A prominent US senator has raised concerns about Barclays’s handling of ties between former chief executive Jes Staley and deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The senator, along with two congressional colleagues, submitted a letter to Barclays’s chairperson requesting detailed answers regarding the bank’s investigation practices and oversight mechanisms.
The lawmakers cited information that emerged during a UK court hearing earlier this year when Staley attempted unsuccessfully to overturn a regulatory ban from the British banking industry. During that proceeding, the bank’s chair acknowledged he had not directly questioned Staley about his most recent contact with Epstein before making declarations to financial regulators. The letter suggests the board accepted Staley’s representations without conducting independent verification, raising questions about the depth of due diligence performed.
According to the correspondence, senators questioned whether Barclays had reviewed deficiencies in its hiring procedures, particularly given that the institution had selected a chief executive with documented professional and personal relationships with a convicted sex offender. The lawmakers stressed that such governance failures raise significant concerns about executive accountability at the bank.
The senators underscored that operating banking licenses in the United States represents a privilege contingent on management integrity and sound operations. Barclays, which maintains substantial American operations with approximately $200 billion in assets, was given two weeks to respond to the inquiries. A bank spokesperson stated that regulators had concluded Barclays was misled by Staley, and that subsequent information revealed the executive had provided inaccurate representations about the relationship’s nature and timing relative to his employment.
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