By Stefania Spezzati and Iain Withers
LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays chairman Nigel Higgins thought the financial institution’s previous chief executive officer Jes Staley’s connections with the late disgraced sponsor Jeffrey Epstein did not necessitate a board conversation in the summer season of 2019 after Britain’s economic regulatory authority made inquiries over the issue, according to court papers.
Staley is testing the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) choice to prohibit him from operating in the British financing market in a London court after it determined he misguided the guard dog over his connection with Epstein.
The instance has once more beamed a light on Barclays’ handling of the separation of Staley, that left the British financial institution in 2021, and the connections Epstein had with a selection of abundant and prominent individuals worldwide.
The FCA’s previous exec Jonathan Davidson spoke with Higgins in mid-August 2019 and asked him whether Barclays had actually pleased itself concerning the nature of the connection in between Staley and Epstein complying with media write-ups.
“I recall informing Mr Davison that there had been no board discussion, but that Mr Staley had come to me and told me about the nature of the relationship” with Epstein, Higgins claimed in a witness declaration.
Higgins informed Davidson that he “did not think it needed a board discussion, but that we would get something to him when we were all back from holiday.”
Higgins later on asked other Barclays board participant Crawford Gillies to speak with Staley concerning the issue, that he claimed increased no concern and did not suggest reporting it to the board.
Later in 2019, Barclays contacted the FCA mentioning that Staley had actually informed the financial institution he did not have a close connection with Epstein.
Staley’s connections to Epstein questioned on whether chairman Higgins and the financial institution’s board correctly vetted the previous chief executive officer’s connection withEpstein Last month, the London- based financial institution claimed in its yearly record it had actually prolonged Higgins’ chairmanship for one more 3 years.
In his written testament, Staley claimed that he “was never asked to provide more than I did, nor did I consider that the request for information made by the FCA to Mr Higgins on 15 August 2019 needed me to do so”.
The FCA affirms Staley “recklessly” authorized the letter, which it has actually claimed had 2 deceptive declarations concerning exactly how close he was to Epstein which his last call with the sponsor was “well before he joined Barclays in 2015”.
The FCA’s instance centres on a cache of over 1,000 e-mails in between Staley and Epstein, consisting of those from JPMorgan in which Staley explained their relationship as “profound”.
