Ex-Barclays boss 'took a chance' in lying about his links to Epstein, court hears

The former chief executive of Barclays, Jes Staley, took a "chance" in lying to the UK regulator about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, amid fears that being truthful could end his career and fuel potential lawsuits by victims of the jailed child sex offender, a court has heard.

- Kalyeena Makortoff

The allegations were made by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) during closing statements for the high-profile case at the upper tribunal in London yesterday.

The case is part of Staley's efforts to overturn a lifetime ban from the UK's financial sector, prompted by the FCA's claims that he lied about the depth of his ties to the now-deceased sex offender in 2019.

The FCA's lawyer, Leigh-Ann Mulcahy, told the court yesterday that Staley had a "clear motive to mislead" the regulator about the relationship, which he "had been mischaracterising since 2015".

This was, in part, to protect his career, she said.

But there was also a "US litigation risk", given Staley had been contacted by the American attorney Brad Edwards days after Epstein's arrest over child-sex trafficking on 6 July 2019.