Staley to step down as Barclays CEO amid Epstein probe
BNN Bloomberg
Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley is stepping down after receiving U.K. regulators’ preliminary conclusions from a probe into his ties to the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley is stepping down amid a U.K. regulatory probe into how he characterized his ties to the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Staley, 64, is leaving Monday, according to a statement. C.S. Venkatakrishnan, who was promoted last year to run the Barclays markets division and was previously chief risk officer, will replace him as CEO.
The bank was made aware on Friday night of the preliminary conclusions of regulators “into Mr. Staley’s characterisation to Barclays of his relationship with the late Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent description of that relationship in Barclays’ response to the FCA,” Barclays said in the statement. “In view of those conclusions, and Mr. Staley’s intention to contest them, the board and Mr. Staley have agreed that he will step down from his role as group chief executive and as a director of Barclays.”
Staley’s surprise departure caps a tumultuous six years atop the British lender. He fended off a prior regulatory probe and a campaign by an activist shareholder to unseat him over his strategy to bolster Barclays’ investment bank. The Epstein probe has been running since late 2019, casting a shadow over Staley even as his firm enjoyed record results.
Former money manager Epstein was found dead in his U.S. jail cell in 2019, after being arrested and charged with sex trafficking. Epstein spent decades cultivating ties to U.S. and British elites, from Prince Andrew to Wall Street figures like Staley, Leon Black and Glenn Dubin.
The turmoil at Barclays is the latest indicator of how the late pedophile has haunted elite financial and social circles ever since he was accused of abusing and exploiting dozens of girls. Black has since stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer of Apollo Global Management Inc. and receded from coveted roles including chairman of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
