Barclays CEO Quits After Investigation Into Links With Jeffrey Epstein

Jes Staley, the CEO of Barclays, has resigned after an investigation into his links with Jeffrey Epstein. The inquiry centred on Mr. Staley’s possible involvement in a criminal conspiracy to conceal information from United States investigators about Mr. Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse of minors as well as about investments that violated US sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

Mr. Staley was informed by the Barclays board of directors on October 8th that he would not be allowed to continue as CEO. He will remain with the bank until December 2019, but has been terminated as CEO and Chairman of Barclays Investment Bank and as a senior employee of HSBC Holdings Plc, retaining only his roles on the boards of HSBC Holdings Plc, HSBC Bank USA and HSBC Insurance Services. The position of Chairman of Barclays Investment Bank will be removed by the board, but it is expected that Mr. Staley will remain on the Board as a non-executive director until 2019.

Until now, there has been little action taken by regulators outside of the UK regarding the activities of Mr. Staley, even though HSBC Holdings Plc is domiciled in the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority announced an investigation into Barclays’ hiring practices in December 2016, but it is not clear that this inquiry has included any investigation into Mr. Staley.

Barclays’ CEO was revealed to have recruited the son of his former boss at JPMorgan Chase & Co., in spite of knowing that he was under investigation for wrongdoing.

Mr. Staley blocked the recruitment when it was first proposed in 2015, but overrode this decision when approached again in 2016, when he started an investigation into whether there were any ongoing or pending investigations against the candidate.

The investigation by Barclays and HSBC found that Mr. Staley was aware of a 2015 investigation into whether the candidate had bribed an executive at JPMorgan. The bank’s board concluded that he should be paid £3m as compensation for his resignation, which will be held in trust until 2021 or 2022. Board member Tim Throsby, Head of Wealth Management and another long-time colleague of Mr. Staley’s at Barclays Investment Bank, will take over as CEO until a replacement is found.

In a statement released by HSBC Holdings Plc, Group Chairman Mark Tucker said: Jes has made a huge contribution to HSBC – successfully leading Barclays through the financial crisis and positioning it as one of the leaders in the UK, Europe and globally. He has demonstrated strong leadership qualities throughout his career. HSBC is now well-posi

tioned for sustainable growth across its universal bank businesses and we thank him for all that he has done to lead the group over recent years.

The industry has mixed views on the resignation. Some have expressed frustration that a CEO could be forced out by personal actions, while others have welcomed the high standards being set for senior professionals.

Commenting on Mr. Staley’s departure, a spokeswoman from TheCityUK said: The board clearly felt they didn’t want any distractions to the work of the bank at this time.

Commenting on Mr. Staley’s resignation, a spokesperson for Royds Withy King said: The conduct investigation is ongoing and will consider whether he breached his duties as CEO in relation to shareholders’ best interests, being honest and truthful about what he knew about the investigations and his knowledge of the candidate’s background.

The investigation will also consider whether he breached his duties in relation to financial interests, being honest and truthful about what he knew about the investigations into the candidate and his knowledge of the candidate’s background.