A former top banker at Barclays and JP Morgan has been accused of playing a role in the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking sex ring following he discovery of emails that revealed a ‘profound friendship’ between the two.
Jes Staley, who worked at JPMorgan until 2013, was accused in the filing made in an amended complaint Tuesday by the US Virgin Islands.
“Between 2008 and 2012, Staley exchanged approximately 1,200 emails with Epstein from his JP Morgan email account,” the amendment alleges.
During that time, the bank “serviced approximately 55 Epstein-related accounts collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Staley left Barclays in November 2021 after the board said it was ‘disappointed’ with the outcome of a report into his links with Epstein.
“These communications show a close personal relationship and ‘profound’ friendship between the two men and even suggest that Staley may have been involved in Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation,” the amendment continues.
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The Daily Beast reported that Staley corresponded with Epstein while he was in prison and even visited Epstein’s Islands residence on multiple occasions.
The US Virgin Islands’ suit further claims Staley was allowed “to remain a decision-maker on Epstein’s accounts” and even asked to discuss sordid sex trafficking and human trafficking allegations.
JPMorgan allegedly would make payments to “numerous women with Eastern European surnames who were publicly and internally identified as Epstein recruiters,” including a $600,000 payment to one Jane Doe, purchased by Epstein at just 14 years old.
Sex trafficking ring
The complaint adds that Hyperion Air, the owner of Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’ private jet, issued hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks payable to cash for fuel expenses.
“Many of these cash withdrawals either exceeded the $10,000 reporting threshold or were seemingly structured to avoid triggering the reporting requirement,” the lawsuit claims.
“This is particularly significant since it is well known that Epstein paid his victims in cash,” it adds.
Epstein is accused of using JPMorgan accounts to pay associates like Les Wexner, as well as ex-girlfriends.
Staley is reportedly ‘shell-shocked, angry and upset’ at the preliminary conclusion of the report.
As The Daily Mail reported:
Barclays meanwhile pointed out that the probe makes no findings that he saw, or was aware of, any of Epstein’s alleged crimes.
Barclays said last year that UK financial regulators were probing links between Mr Staley and Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking offenses.
Staley has previously said his relationship with Epstein – who was also friends with Prince Andrew – ended in late 2015, and that he regretted his relationship with him.
The 64-year-old, who is married to interior designer Debbie, was replaced today by the bank’s head of global markets CS Venkatakrishnan, known as ‘Venkat.’
Barclays said Staley was entitled to 12 months’ notice and will continue to receive his current fixed annual pay of £2.4million in cash and Barclays shares, a pension allowance of £120,000, and other benefits until October 31, 2022.
Epstein was found dead in a New York prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking allegations.