Former CEO of Barclays, Jes Staley, arrives at the High Court in London, United Kingdom, March 14, 2025. Staley is challenging his ban from the UK financial sector due to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Tayfun Salci Anadolu | Getty Images
Jes Staley, first JPMorgan Chase manager andBarclays CEO, agreed to be interviewed about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein on July 23 by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a spokesman for the panel confirmed Sunday.
The Financial Times first reported that Staley accepted an invitation for a voluntary written interview extended to him three weeks ago by the Chairman of the Oversight Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
The Oversight Panel has been conducting a series of interviews with high-profile people about Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke to the committee on Friday about the Justice Department’s handling of the release of its Epstein files.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates is scheduled to be interviewed by the Oversight Committee on June 10 about his relationship with Epstein.
Billionaire Leon Black is reportedly scheduled to be interviewed by the panel on June 26, while Goldman Sachs general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler is reportedly scheduled to be interviewed on July 15.
Staley was a friend of Epstein, who had been a major JPMorgan private wealth and asset management client when Staley was self-employed.
Epstein, who was a friend of President Donald Trump, died by suicide in a New York prison in August 2019, a few weeks after he was imprisoned for child sex trafficking.
In 2023, JPMorgan agreed to pay Epstein’s victims $290 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the bank facilitated the sex trafficking of Epstein, a former JPMorgan client.
That same year, the bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle a similar lawsuit by the government of the US Virgin Islands, and they separately agreed to enter into a confidential settlement with Staley to settle the bank’s claims that he was responsible for any civil damages and costs related to the Epstein-related lawsuit.
In both public settlements, JPMorgan did not admit wrongdoing in its dealings with Epstein.
Staley served as CEO of Barclays from October 2015 until he stepped down in late 2021.
His departure follows an investigation by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority into how he disclosed his relationship with Epstein and Barclays and the subsequent description of that relationship in Barclays’ response to the FCA.
That regulator fined Staley more than $2 million and permanently banned him from taking an administrative role in the industry through 2023.
Barclays noted at the time that the investigation “found no evidence that Mr Staley saw, or knew of, any of Epstein’s alleged crimes, which was a key question behind Barclays’ support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Epstein in the summer of 2019.”
Staley, in 2020, said, “Obviously, I thought I knew him well, but I didn’t. Certainly, in retrospect, with what we know now, I deeply regret having any relationship with Jeffrey.”
– CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed to this article.
