Jes Staley says JPMorgan wants 'shield' in Epstein case

Former Barclays boss and top JPMorgan executive Jes Staley

Former banking boss Jes Staley has asked a court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by his former employer JPMorgan blaming him for its decision to do business with Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr Staley said the Wall Street giant was trying to "deflect blame" from its own failures and use him as a "public relations shield".

It comes as JPMorgan is fighting claims that it facilitated sex trafficking by Epstein, its client from 1998 to 2013.

The bank has denied liability.

In cases brought by the US Virgin Islands and two women who say they were abused by Epstein, JPMorgan and rival Deutsche Bank have been accused of ignoring "red flags", including repeated cash withdrawals.

Their legal filings revealed exchanges between Epstein and Mr Staley, who worked for JPMorgan for more than three decades, including one thanking Epstein for his "friendship".

"I owe you so much," he wrote.

In a lawsuit filed last month, JPMorgan said that if the allegations were true then Mr Staley - who had served as chief executive of its corporate and investment banking division - had repeatedly abandoned the bank's interests in favour of his own and he, not the bank, should be held responsible for any harm.

It said Mr Staley should be financially liable if the claimants win their case.

The bank said his decision to withhold information about Epstein was "a direct and proximate cause of [its] decision to continue to do business with Epstein until 2013".

'Shield' claim

In his response, Mr Staley said he had no decision-making power over Epstein's accounts and the allegations extended beyond his time at the bank.

He also called the claim that he had sexually assaulted a woman "baseless".

"Whether or not JPMorgan is liable... remains to be seen. What is certain is that the bank cannot treat Mr Staley as its public relations shield by asserting claims that lack any legal or factual basis," his response said.

The legal battle shows the ongoing fallout stemming from Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 after being accused of running a "vast network" of underage girls for sex.

Convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, he had moved in social circles that included Prince Andrew and former presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as many key figures of the business world.

Mr Staley served as chief executive of Barclays after leaving JPMorgan. He stepped down from that bank in 2021 after an investigation into his ties to Epstein.

In an earlier filing, his lawyer had described allegations as "slanderous" and the potential damages "astronomical", writing that the stakes could "hardly be higher" for Mr Staley as he seeks to disprove the claims.