Former Barclays boss Staley pressed JPMorgan to keep Epstein as client

Former Barclays boss Jes Staley pushed his ex-employer JPMorgan to retain Jeffrey Epstein as a client even though the disgraced financier had been convicted of prostitute offences.

Staley pressed the Wall Street giant to keep Epstein before the bank parted with him as a customer in 2013, according to two people close to the situation.

The news was first reported by the Financial Times.

Staley left Barclays after he and the bank’s board were shown the preliminary findings of a probe into the way he characterised his relationship with Epstein.

One of the people familiar with the situation said Staley, then head of JPMorgan’s investment bank, reportedly argued the lender should keep Epstein as he had served his sentence and repaid his debt to society.

Staley is fighting the findings of the investigation launched by Britain’s finance watchdogs.