Barclays has suspended nearly 70% of former chief executive Jes Staley’s bonus, citing the ongoing FCA and PRA investigations involving his connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The first part of the bank’s annual report, totalling over 400 pages, says that between Staley’s appointment in 2015 and his stepping down last October, only 16% of his variable remuneration had been vested. A similar amount, the bank said, had lapsed without vesting.
The remainder, thought to be worth around £22m, is to be frozen following an investigation into Staley’s links with the notorious sex offender and friend of Prince Andrew (who has paid a reported £12m settlement related to his relationships with Epstein).
In its annual report, Barclays said: “No further remuneration decisions have been made in respect of Mr Staley. The Committee will consider these matters further, in conjunction with the BPLC and BBPLC Boards, as and when it considers appropriate but does not currently expect to make further decisions on this until the conclusion of those regulatory and legal proceedings. Any such decisions in the future will be disclosed in future remuneration reports.”
Staley left Barclays at the end of October following an investigation into his links with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the nature of which has yet to be fully determined.
As Expert Investor wrote back then, “Epstein took his own life in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, having been given a sweetheart, non-prosecution deal in Florida in 2008 for similar offences. Despite that conviction, allegations going back to at least 1994, and rumours spreading like dark mist for decades, a lot of people seemed to have found it difficult to give up their friendship or connection with him. This seems to be what has tripped Staley up.”
It is understood that Staley described his relationship with Epstein as being ‘professional’, with contact tapering off from around 2013, five years after Epstein was first convicted of sex offenses against children. However, FCA and PRA investigations indicated that the relationship between Staley and Epstein was other than professional. As we wrote back then: “Staley is reportedly going to challenge those conclusions by the FCA and, so the story goes, he and Barclays have agreed to part ways.”
