A cache of documents provided by JPMorgan Chase & Co. was what led British regulators to begin an investigation into the links between Jeffrey Epstein and former Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley, a court was told.

JPMorgan informed the Financial Conduct Authority in November 2019 that it had identified "various documents" that showed the relationship between Staley, a former senior JPMorgan executive, and the late pedophile financier, according to a London court filing.

After being informed of the existence of the cache, the British regulator compelled JPMorgan to hand over the documents and opened a formal probe into Staley. That investigation ultimately led to his firing and resulted in him being permanently banned from the U.K. financial services industry.

"This is what kicked everything off," Judge Timothy Herrington said of the JPMorgan documents at a Monday court hearing in London to discuss Staley's appeal of the FCA's decision last year permanently banning him from the U.K. financial services industry.

A spokesman for JPMorgan and a representative for Staley declined to comment.

JPMorgan ended a legal claim against Staley last year as part of a wider settlement which saw the bank agree to pay out $290 million to a group of almost 200 victims of Epstein's abuse and a further $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The bank did not admit liability in either case.

The FCA case is likely to re-air much of the same evidence about Staley's ties with Epstein that was raised during the JPMorgan litigation, as well as provide new details.

One such detail emerged Monday when it was revealed in a London court filing that Staley's adult daughter, Alexa Staley, acted as a go-between for him and Epstein, despite Jes Staley's claim that he cut ties with the sex offender after becoming Barclays CEO. Bloomberg News first reported in February that the men maintained contact through an intermediary, citing documents that were part of the U.S. litigation against JPMorgan, but that person was not identified at the time.

A Monday court filing also said Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and Barclays Chairman Nigel Higgins are expected to testify in the FCA case, which is expected to go to trial in March.

Staley was a central figure in the previous cases involving JPMorgan, which made numerous references to his close links to Epstein as he climbed the corporate ladder at the bank over three decades before leaving in 2013. Documents released as part of the lawsuits showed Staley thanking the late sex offender for his "friendship" and discussing visiting several of Epstein's luxury properties, including his private Caribbean island.

The JPMorgan emails also showed Staley asking for Epstein's advice on his pay negotiations with CEO Jamie Dimon, as well as sharing other sensitive internal information. In its legal filing on Monday, the FCA said the former Barclays chief's willingness to provide confidential information to Epstein highlighted "the closeness" of their relationship.

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As part of the proceeding, Staley's lawyers have raised the possibility that the court should hear from his former colleague Mary Erdoes, who now leads JPMorgan's asset- and wealth-management unit, as well as Barclays' current CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan.

Longtime client

Epstein was a client of JPMorgan's private bank for more than a decade despite attempts by some of the firm's compliance staff to cut ties with the late financier over his links to sex trafficking and abuse of young women.

Even after his conviction for having sex with a minor, Epstein remained a customer, helped in part by Staley's efforts in vouching for him over the years. Months after Staley left the bank in January 2013, Epstein was finally dropped as a client.

Staley is challenging the FCA's findings against him and has argued that he did not mislead the regulator and the Barclays board when he was asked about his links to Epstein following the pedophile financier's death by suicide in August 2019, which came weeks after he was arrested in New York on charges including sex trafficking.

Barclays hired Staley as its CEO in December 2015, and he ultimately stepped down in late 2021. At the time, Barclays said in a statement it was "disappointed at this outcome."

(With assistance from Hannah Levitt.)

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