WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., sent a letter Wednesday to Barclays Group Chairman Nigel Higgins seeking answers about the bank’s handling of former CEO Jes Staley’s relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and its response after evidence emerged that Staley had misrepresented the nature of that relationship to regulators.
Krishnamoorthi sits on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where Khanna is also a member; Warren serves as ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. “As has now been extensively reported, however, Staley and Epstein maintained a close professional and personal relationship for nearly two decades, including during his tenure at Barclays,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is deeply unclear how Barclays, in supposedly investigating Staley’s connection to Epstein, failed to uncover this decades-long relationship.” They added that “Barclays’ apparent failure to meaningfully investigate or address Staley’s relationship with Epstein raises significant governance questions regarding the bank’s ability to hold senior executives accountable for wrongdoing.”
The letter cites years of scrutiny into Staley’s ties to Epstein, dating to his earlier career at JPMorgan Chase, where he served as Epstein’s private banker. According to findings from Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, Staley defended Epstein while at JPMorgan, remained in close contact with him after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a minor, exchanged more than 1,200 messages with him, and visited Epstein’s private island. The lawmakers note that Epstein reportedly helped Staley secure the Barclays CEO position, a role Staley held from December 2015 to 2021, and that Staley remained in contact with Epstein even after taking the job — including contact in the days immediately preceding the announcement of his appointment.
In October 2019, Barclays informed U.K. financial regulators that Staley had confirmed he “did not have a close relationship” with Epstein and that their last contact predated his time at the bank. The FCA later found that claim to be false, citing emails in which Staley described Epstein as one of his “deepest” and “most cherished” friends. In October 2023, the FCA fined Staley £1.8 million (about $2.2 million) and imposed a lifetime ban on him holding senior management positions in the U.K. financial services industry, finding he had “recklessly” misled the regulator and “acted with a lack of integrity.” Staley appealed the decision to the Upper Tribunal, which upheld the ban in June 2025 while reducing his fine to £1.1 million; the tribunal’s final notice was issued in July 2025. Barclays separately withheld deferred bonuses and share awards from Staley totaling 17.8 million pounds. JPMorgan Chase, which had sued Staley over allegedly concealing his personal activities with Epstein from the bank, reached a confidential settlement with him and separately paid $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to resolve claims that the bank enabled Epstein’s sex-trafficking activities.
Because Barclays maintains extensive U.S. banking operations, the lawmakers argue the bank’s corporate governance and oversight of senior executives are matters of significant interest to U.S. regulators and Congress. Their letter seeks information on Barclays’ due diligence before hiring Staley, the scope of its internal investigation into his Epstein ties, its communications with U.K. regulators, the circumstances of Staley’s resignation and compensation forfeitures, and any contact with U.S. banking regulators following the release of additional Epstein-related documents. The lawmakers requested a response from Barclays by August 5, 2026.
