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Matthias Knab, Opalesque:

The UK's Upper Tribunal has upheld the Financial Conduct Authoritys (FCA) decision to ban Jes Staley, former CEO of Barclays, from holding senior roles in financial services - after finding he misled regulators about the nature and timeline of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Tribunal found that Staley approved a letter sent to the FCA that contained false and misleading statements. The letter claimed that he was not close to Epstein and had ceased contact well before his appointment at Barclays. In fact, Staley referred to Epstein in private emails as one of his "deepest" and "most cherished" friends - and was still in contact with Epstein as late as 2017, long after he claimed the relationship had ended.

The FCA's investigation, supported by hundreds of emails, revealed that Staley had maintained a close personal relationship with Epstein for years and continued to engage with him both directly and indirectly well into his Barclays tenure. His statements to the regulator were found to be knowingly misleading, with the Tribunal concluding he acted recklessly and lacked integrity.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, stated:

"Mr Staley chose to take a calculated risk that we would take his inaccurate account of his relationship with Mr Epstein at face value. He hoped that the truth would never come to light and that he would get aw......................

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