Jeffrey Epstein claims to have held meetings with senior UK ministers

According to an internal investigation by JP Morgan Chase, Jeffrey Epstein claimed to have brokered meetings between then-senior banker Jess Staley and high-ranking members of the UK government.

A 22-page report by the bank, compiled after the arrest of its former client in 2019 and seen by the Financial Times, details how Epstein arranged for Staley to meet with then UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling and former Business Secretary Peter Mandelson. offered to join. Actual Deputy Prime Minister.

In January 2010, just months after being released from prison after serving a sentence for sex crimes, Epstein wrote to Staley: “I’ve got you and Peter set up to meet with Darling in Davos,” the World Economic Forum There is a reference to what was happening in Switzerland.

A few days later, Staley wrote to Epstein that he had seen Peter the previous night. Darling in 20 minutes. Will talk to Peter again this morning.”

Darling said he had no recollection of meeting Staley, who was then a senior JPMorgan executive, and had no dealings with Epstein. “Why would I?” He asked.

An upcoming exchange described in the report suggests that Staley was interested in the pending sale of non-North American units of Sempra Commodities by Royal Bank of Scotland, which was forced to divest the unit following a UK government bailout. . Months later, JPMorgan bought the business for $1.7 billion.

Darling said that any meeting on government business would be attended by civil servants and that the Treasury was not involved in running the RBS.

A person close to Mandelson said he met Staley in Davos to discuss the banking crisis but that Epstein “certainly” did not arrange the meeting.

The report states that Epstein and Mandelson spoke and met “on several occasions”.

Reportedly, the company received an email sent by Epstein to Staley stating that “Peter” was staying at “71st” during a June 2009 weekend. Epstein had an apartment on East 71st Street, Manhattan. It quoted Staley as saying “Peter in Paris with me” in a January 2011 email to Epstein. Epstein had a lavish flat in the French capital.

A spokesman for the Labor peer said: “Lord Mandelson deeply regrets having been introduced to Epstein. This connection has been a matter of public record for some time. He has had no professional or business relationship of any kind with Epstein.” Was.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Darling or Mandelson, but the report describes how Epstein tried to influence their political connections.

Several other exchanges point to a friendly relationship between Epstein, Staley and Britain’s Prince Andrew. In 2009, Epstein reportedly emailed Staley: “Ask Andrew about the island, tell him about your boat plans”, an apparent reference to Epstein’s private island Little St. James in the Caribbean.

In 2010, Epstein forwarded an email from Prince Andrew to Staley “received to Prince with an inquiry” from a company “looking for a $200 million working capital line”.

The JP Morgan investigation concluded, “Since the company is based in the US, Prince Andrew suggested to Epstein that he connect them to a US bank.”

A representative for Prince Andrew and Staley’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.

Epstein died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

The decision by JPMorgan to retain Epstein as a client from 1998 to 2013 prompted the filing of two blistering lawsuits late last year, one of which was brought by an alleged Epstein victim, whom the bank had denied in the past. The week was settled for $290 million.

The bank still faces a separate civil claim from the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein’s home on Little St. James was based. The field accuses JPMorgan of profiting from human trafficking by ignoring several internal red flags about Epstein.

A spokesman for the USVI attorney-general said, “Jeffrey Epstein connected JPMorgan Chase executives with some of the most high-profile and wealthy individuals in the world.”

He added: “The USVI complaint alleges that, in exchange for bringing valuable new customers to JPMorgan Chase Bank . . . ignored evidence of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and the public safety of the victims for their own profits.”

JP Morgan in turn sued Staley, who was for a period the US lender Epstein’s personal banker, and went on to lead Barclays in the UK before resigning after UK regulators concluded that he had defamed Had misrepresented his relationship with the financier.

JPMorgan claims that Staley, who has been accused by an unnamed Epstein victim of participating in sex crimes, did not seek information from the bank about the disgraced financier. Staley called the allegations “outrageous” and “baseless”.

Internal JPMorgan reports outline how close Staley was to Epstein, with the two discussing Staley’s career progress, “beautiful women” and the use of luxury yachts and helicopters. It was also found that Staley had written to Epstein while he was in prison. And it includes excerpts from exchanges that suggest Epstein was trying to help Staley’s daughter get accepted to Columbia University in New York.

Some of the findings in the report were previously published by The Wall Street Journal.

JP Morgan declined to comment on the report.

In response to the settlement with Epstein victims last week, the bank said: “We all understand now that Epstein’s behavior was monstrous, and we believe that this settlement is in the best interests of all parties, especially the survivors.” For those who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of this man.

Any association with him was a mistake and we are sorry.

Additional reporting by William Wallis in London