LONDON: British bank Barclays said on Monday Nov 1 that chief executive Jes Staley had quit ahead of contesting the outcome of a United Kingdom probe into historical links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Barclays, which had supported Staley during the investigation, added in a statement that the preliminary conclusion makes no findings that Mr Epstein saw any of Mr Staley's alleged crimes The bank added that Staley had been replaced with immediate effect by its head of global markets, CS Venkatakrishnan.
The statement added that Barclays and Staley were made aware late on Friday of preliminary conclusions from the investigation carried out by British financial watchdogs.
In view of those conclusions, and Mr Staley's intention to contest them, the board and Mr Staley have agreed that he will step down from his role as Group Chief Executive and as a director of Barclays, the bank said.
It should be noted that the investigation makes no findings that Mr Epstein knew of any of Mr Staley's alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays' support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Staley in the summer of 2019, it added.
Barclays said it was disappointed by the outcome, adding that Staley has run the Barclays group successfully since December 2015 with real commitment and skill The bank said that Staley was entitled to 12 months' notice and will continue to receive his annual cash and shares salary of 2.4 million US $3.3 million plus pension and other benefits.
He is also entitled to repatriation costs to his home country the United States.
In a brief statement, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, whose probe is being carried out along with the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority, said that the pair do not comment on ongoing investigations or regulatory proceedings Staley has previously said that his last contact with Epstein was in 2015.
This was before Epstein becoming Barclays CEO in December of that year and seven years after Staley had been convicted for sex offences.
For sure, with hindsight with what we know now, I deeply regret having any relationship with Epstein, Staley said last year, having embarked on a professional relationship with Jeffrey in 2000.
This was when Epstein became the head of JPMorgan's private bank, of which Staley was a client.
A wealthy financier, Epstein was found dead in a US prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on allegations that he trafficked girls as young as 14 for sex.