Epstein emails uncovered by Jes Staley in New York

Emails exchanged between Jes Staley, former Barclays chief executive, and recently convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been revealed in more detail in a lawsuit filed by the US Virgin Islands against JPMorgan Chase.

Re-edited portions of a complaint by the Virgin Islands government where Epstein had a home include excerpts from several of the 1,200 emails between the men from 2008 to 2012, when Staley was Epstein’s private banker at JPMorgan.

In July 2010, Staley sent a message to Epstein that read, “Maybe they’re following you? That was fun. Say hello to Snow White.”

Epstein asked in return: “[W]Which character do you want next?” to which Staley said “Beauty and the Beast”. Epstein replied, “Well, a page is available.”

According to the Virgin Islands, the exchange referred to young women and girls that Epstein provided. The emails are said to demonstrate a “close personal relationship and ‘deep’ friendship between the two men, even suggesting that Staley may have been involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking.”

The “Snow White” email was first reported by the Financial Times in November 2021.

The new parts of the lawsuit, revealed Wednesday, will add pressure to JPMorgan, which the Virgin Islands say is responsible for facilitating Epstein’s sexual abuse by failing to recognize and address red flags react.

Staley, who worked at JPMorgan until 2013, urged the bank to keep Epstein as a client despite the disgraced financier’s convictions, the FT previously reported.

Some of the newly released emails suggest Epstein was a controversial customer and was under scrutiny at the highest levels of the bank, including Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.

An email sent in August 2008, according to the Virgin Islands, read: “I would count Epstein’s net worth as a likely outflow for 2008 ($120 million [sic] or something?) as I can’t imagine it will stay (pending Dimon review).”

The complaint also cites emails allegedly showing that JPMorgan employees have raised concerns about Epstein at various stages. It includes an email from 2010 from a member of the bank’s risk management department, which read: “See below new allegations of child trafficking investigation – are you still comfortable with this client who is now a registered sex offender? “

In a January 2011 review of Epstein’s accounts, the complaint states, the bank concluded that there were “no material updates” and noted that “Jes Staley discussed the issue with Jeffrey Epstein, who replied, that the allegations are not true, no evidence and do not expect any problems”.

JPMorgan declined to comment beyond court filings from the bank’s attorneys, who previously called the lawsuit “baseless.”

Staley himself is not a defendant in the lawsuit and has consistently denied knowledge of Epstein’s sexual abuse. Kathleen Harris, an attorney for Staley, declined to comment.

Harris told the FT in 2021 that her client “was not involved in any of Mr. Epstein’s alleged crimes and Mr. Staley’s code words were never used in any communications with Mr. Epstein.”

Staley resigned from Barclays in 2021 after seeing preliminary conclusions an investigation by UK regulators into whether he had wrongly described his relationship with Epstein as purely professional. Barclays declined to comment.

The cache of 1,200 emails that JPMorgan made available to regulators in the US and UK also forms the core of the Financial Conduct Authority’s investigation into Staley, which he is currently appealing.

Another email in the files was sent in November 2009, while Epstein was under house arrest in Florida after being released on charges of soliciting a minor into prostitution in the state.

The USVI said it was broadcast while Staley was “presumably visiting Little St. James,” Epstein’s private island.

“So when all hell breaks loose, lo[o]Se, and the world is crumbling, I’ll come here and be at peace. Right now I’m in the hot tub with a glass of white wine. This is an amazing place. Truly amazing. Next time we’ll be here together. I owe you a lot And I value our friendship very much. I have few that are as profound,” Staley wrote.

A month later, in early December, Staley wrote: “I understand the danger of sending this email. But it was great to give you a long, warm hug in New York City today.”

The next day, Epstein sent an email containing a picture of a young woman, which remains redacted. Staley replied, “Don’t tell me French wine.” Epstein said “always thoughts of alcohol”.

Later in December, Epstein sent Staley another email containing only a picture of a young woman, also redacted.

The Virgin Islands allege that the emails, photos and bank transfers show that JPMorgan “knowingly facilitated, maintained and concealed the human trafficking network it operated” with transactions made through JPMorgan accounts.

The women, who were “trafficked and abused at various intervals between at least 2003 and July 2019, when Epstein was arrested and detained,” received payments “totalling over $1 million between 2003 and 2013,” the complaint said .

Among the recipients were women with “Eastern European surnames who have been publicly and internally identified as Epstein’s recruiters and/or victims,” ​​alleged Virgin Islands attorneys, including a woman identified in news reports and JPMorgan’s due diligence as being solicited by Epstein 14 years old and received $600,000.

Epstein pleaded guilty in state court in 2008 to a count of soliciting prostitution with a minor and was soon registered as a sex offender in the Virgin Islands. He died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges that he trafficked underage girls.

Epstein’s estate reached a $105 million settlement with the Virgin Islands in December.

JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank are also being sued by victims of Epstein who accuse lenders of supporting the sex trade by turning a blind eye to suspicious transactions.