Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley's attempt to overturn a ban from holding senior leadership roles has been unsuccessful after he was found to have misled about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Upper Tribunal concluded that Staley did not fully disclose the nature of his relationship with Epstein to Barclays prior to the letter sent to the City watchdog, as reported by .
In 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requested Barclays to clarify the relationship between Staley and Epstein.
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The letter to the watchdog asserted that Staley did not maintain a close relationship with the convicted sex offender; however, emails revealed Staley referred to Epstein as one of his 'deepest' and 'most cherished' friends.
Moreover, it was initially believed that Staley had cut ties with Epstein well before joining Barclays, but it emerged that he had been in contact with Epstein shortly before becoming the bank's CEO.
Consequently, the FCA determined that Staley "recklessly approved a letter sent by Barclays to the FCA" and in 2023, imposed a £1.8m fine on him and banned him from occupying a senior position in the financial industry.
Staley challenged the decision notice at the Upper Tribunal, which proceeded to trial in March.
Nevertheless, on Thursday, the Tribunal ruled against Staley, upholding the non-disciplinary reference and permitting the authorities to enforce a prohibition order preventing him from taking on senior management positions within the City.
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Despite this outcome, the Upper Tribunal did reduce the original £1.8m fine to £1.1m.
In response to the ruling, Therese Chambers from the FCA stated: "Mr Staley chose to take a calculated risk that we would take his inaccurate account of his relationship with Mr Epstein at face value."
"He hoped that the truth would never come to light and that he would get away with it. Such a serious lack of integrity flies in the face of the requirements we place on those at the top."
"The Tribunal's decision shows that we can and will act to protect the financial system by holding those in senior roles to the high standards required of them," she further added.