According to an internal JPMorgan investigation, Jeffrey Epstein claimed to have facilitated a meeting between then-senior banker Jess Starley and senior members of the British government.
A 22-page report compiled by the bank following the arrest of its former client in 2019, seen by the Financial Times, details how Epstein offered to have Staley meet Alistair, then chancellor of the exchequer. The de facto deputy prime minister has established ties with Alistair Darling and former business secretary and Deutsche Bank vice-president Peter Mandelson.
In January 2010, just months after he was released from prison for sex crimes, Epstein wrote to Staley: “I have arranged for you and Peter to meet my dear in Davos,” he said of the world. The Economic Forum takes place in Switzerland.
A few days later, Staley wrote to Epstein saying he had seen “Peter last night. Honey, in 20 minutes. Will speak to Peter again this morning.”
Darling said he did not recall meeting Staley, who was a senior JPMorgan executive at the time, and had no dealings with Epstein. “Why should I?” he asked.
Subsequent exchanges, described in the report, suggest that Staley was interested in RBS’s imminent sale of the non-North American unit of Sempra Commodities, which the bank was forced to divest following a UK government bailout.A few months later, JPMorgan Chase bought the business for $1.7 billion
Darling said any meetings on government business would be attended by civil servants and that the Treasury was not involved in RBS operations.
A person close to Mandelson said he met Staley in Davos to discuss the banking crisis, but Epstein “certainly” did not arrange the meeting.
The report indicated that Epstein and Mandelson spoke and met “on multiple occasions.”
The company found an email Epstein sent to Staley stating that “Peter” stayed at “71st” on a June weekend in 2009, the report said. Epstein owns an apartment on East 71st Street in Manhattan. It also cites an email Epstein sent to Staley in January 2011, telling him “Peter and I are in Paris.” Epstein owns a luxury apartment in the French capital.
A spokesman for fellow Labor said: “Lord Mandelson deeply regrets being introduced to Epstein. The link has been a matter of public record for some time. He has never had any sort of professional relationship with Epstein. or business relationship.”
There was no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Darling or Mandelson, but the report illustrates how Epstein tried to peddle his political connections to exert influence.
Several other exchanges point to a friendly relationship between Epstein, Staley and Britain’s Prince Andrew.In 2009, Epstein reportedly sent Staley an email: “Ask Andrew about (this) island, tell him about your boat ride plans,” an apparent reference to Epstein’s private Caribbean estate. island little st james
In 2010, Epstein forwarded to Staley an email from Prince Andrew that “the Prince had received an inquiry” from a company “seeking a $200 million working capital line.”
“Because the companies are based in the United States, Prince Andrew appears to have advised Epstein to link them with a U.S. bank,” the JPMorgan investigation concluded.
Representatives for Prince Andrew and Staley’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
JPMorgan’s decision to keep Epstein as a client from 1998 to 2013 prompted JPMorgan to file two blockbuster lawsuits late last year, one by alleged Epstein victims and last week filed by The bank settled for $290 million.
The bank still faces a separate civil claim from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein’s home in Little St. James is located. The territory accused JPMorgan of profiting from human trafficking by ignoring numerous internal red flags about Epstein.
“Jeffrey Epstein connected JPMorgan executives to some of the most high-profile and wealthiest people in the world,” said a spokesman for the USVI attorney general.
They added: “USVI’s complaint alleges that in return, JPMorgan brought valuable new clients to the bank .
JPMorgan in turn sued Staley, who worked for a time as Epstein’s personal banker at Bank of America, after U.K. regulators concluded he mischaracterized his relationship with the disgraced financier. After the relationship, he resigned and went on to lead Barclays Bank in the UK.
JPMorgan claims Staley, who has been accused by an unnamed Epstein victim of involvement in sex crimes, withheld information about the disgraced financier from the bank. Staley called the allegations “defamatory” and “baseless.”
JPMorgan’s internal report highlighted Staley’s close relationship with Epstein, with the two discussing Staley’s career development, “beauties” and the use of luxury boats and helicopters. It also found that Staley had written to Epstein while he was in prison. It contained excerpts from exchanges showing that Epstein tried to help Staley’s daughter get admitted to Columbia University in New York.
Some of the findings in the report were published earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
JPMorgan declined to comment on the report.
In response to last week’s agreement with Epstein’s victims, the bank said: “We all now understand Epstein’s heinous actions and we believe this settlement is in the best interest of all parties, especially the survivors, They suffered unimaginable abuse. The hands of this man.
“Any link with him is false and we regret it,” it added.
Additional reporting by William Wallis in London