Barclays CEO Jes Staley resigns over Jeffrey Epstein ties

Barclays CEO Jes Staley resigned from his post, effective immediately, following the preliminary results of a probe into his alleged connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Staley is succeeded by Barclays trading chief CS Venkatakrishnan.

The CEO's resignation is only the latest in the finance sector with purported links to Epstein's operations.

The departure comes after financial regulators in the UK forwarded their unpublished findings to the global bank. The probe delved into the veracity of Staley's claims before the board about his years-long ties to Epstein, who was arrested on charges of sex trafficking and later found dead in his jail cell in 2019.

Staley, however, said he plans to contest the results of the investigation of his statements.

"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," officials at the bank said.

"It should be noted that the investigation makes no findings that Mr. Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr. Epstein's alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays' support for Mr. Staley following the arrest of Mr. Epstein in the summer of 2019."

The two reportedly became acquainted with each other at JPMorgan, where Staley built his career and Epstein was a client. Epstein also allegedly referred other wealthy clients to Staley. 

In early 2020, Staley told Bloomberg Television: "It's clear in my own mind, going all the way back to 2015 when I joined Barclays – I have been very transparent with the bank and have been very willing and open to discuss the relationship that I had with him."