A lawsuit filed by the US Virgin Islands has accused former Barclays and JPMorgan executive Jes Staley of being an operative in the late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's sex ring. The amended complaint, submitted on Tuesday, alleges that Staley exchanged approximately 1,200 emails with Epstein from his JPMorgan email account between 2008 and 2012.
The filing claims that these communications reveal 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. It also alleges that Staley corresponded with Epstein while he was incarcerated and visited his Virgin Islands residence on multiple occasions.
The lawsuit further asserts that JPMorgan allowed Staley to remain a decision-maker on Epstein's accounts and made payments to numerous women with Eastern European surnames who were identified as Epstein recruiters, including a $600,000 payment to a woman Epstein purchased when she was 14. Additionally, Hyperion Air, which owned Epstein's private jet, issued hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks payable to cash for fuel expenses, with many withdrawals structured to avoid reporting thresholds.
Staley, 66, quit Barclays in November 2021 after the bank's board expressed disappointment with a report into his links to Epstein. He has previously stated that his relationship with Epstein ended in late 2015 and that he regrets it. Barclays has noted that the probe made no findings that Staley saw or was aware of any of Epstein's alleged crimes.
