Jes Staley is set to be deposed next week in US litigation alleging that JPMorgan Chase, his former employer, facilitated sex trafficking by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
JPMorgan last week sued Staley, seeking to hold him liable for penalties the bank may have to pay if found liable in lawsuits brought by an alleged victim of Epstein and the US Virgin Islands. JPMorgan is accused of facilitating Epstein’s sexual abuse by failing to spot and act on red flags.
The planned deposition was leaked at a hearing in Manhattan on Thursday, where Staley was represented by Brendan Sullivan, a senior partner at Williams 039;Connolly whose former clients include Col. Oliver North, a former National Security Council aide charged in the Iran-Contra scandal. .
JPMorgan has accused Staley, who worked at the bank for more than 30 years until his departure in 2013, of playing a central role in handling Epstein’s relationship with the bank. Staley has previously denied any involvement in Epstein’s alleged crimes.
The judge assigned to the case, Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York, also moved the trial date Thursday from September 5 to October 23, in part to accommodate the increased involvement of Staley’s legal team. Staley is not charged in either case against JPMorgan.
JPMorgan said the cases were unfounded and asked the court to dismiss them. Rakoff said he would try to govern by the end of March.
The two lawsuits provided the most complete picture to date of JPMorgan’s relationship with Epstein, who was a client of its private bank for high net worth clients from 1998 to 2013.
Court documents alleged that JPMorgan executives ignored warnings from its risk management and compliance teams about Epstein’s links to child trafficking and the assault of young girls.
They also showed posts in which Staley pleaded for JPMorgan to continue its business relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sexually assaulting underage girls.
Staley left JPMorgan just months before Epstein’s relationship with the bank ended in 2013, joining hedge fund BlueMountain Capital before later taking over Barclays in 2015. He resigned in 2021 after an investigation into his links to Epstein by UK regulators.
