Status: 01.11.2021 2:32 p.m.
The head of the third largest British bank Barclays Jes Staley is leaving his post. The background is his connection to the now deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The chief executive of the British bank Barclays Jes Staley has resigned. The reason for this is knowledge of Staley’s relationship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who has since died, and his statements to the British financial regulator FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). The FCA had informed the bank and the manager on Friday evening of unspecified findings of a preliminary investigation and Staley’s statements to the FCA. The company and the manager then agreed to withdraw, Barclays announced today in London.
Staley wanted to defend himself against the findings. During his time at the US bank JPMorgan, the 64-year-old had contact with the financier and multimillionaire Epstein. He has been the head of Barclays since December 2015.
Salary for another year
According to the investigation, Staley had neither witnessed nor had any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged crimes, Barclays said. That was also the main reason why Barclays supported him after Epstein’s arrest in the summer of 2019. The manager managed the big bank successfully and with a lot of commitment. He’ll get his £ 2.4 million salary for another year. That is the equivalent of 2.8 million euros.
Staley’s successor is to be top manager CS Venkatakrishnan. He previously headed the Global Markets segment at Barclays. His appeal has yet to be confirmed by the authorities.
Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019, is at the center of an abuse scandal. Together with his ex-partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently waiting for her trial in a New York prison, he is said to have made dozens of girls and young women into their addiction and sexually abused and fed other men for years. In this context, there had also been allegations against Prince Andrew.