Senior Citi banker leaves firm after report of Epstein meetings

A senior executive at Citigroup has left the bank, days after it was reported that he had met with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on several occasions while working at JPMorgan Chase.

In response to a query from the Financial Times, Citi confirmed that Paul Barrett, head of the North American private capital group at its private bank, was no longer employed by the firm.

The departure comes after a report on Friday in The Wall Street Journal, confirmed by the FT, that Barrett had met with Epstein after JPMorgan terminated its relationship with the convicted sex offender.

“Until recently, Citi was unaware of Paul Barrett’s association with Jeffrey Epstein, which predated his employment at our firm,” Citi said in a statement.

Barrett did not respond to a request for comment on LinkedIn. An email sent to his Citi account was returned undelivered.

Barrett worked at JPMorgan for 18 years until 2018. In 2019, he joined Citi, where he was responsible for connecting the bank’s wealthy clients with its investment bank.

Citi opened an internal investigation last week after executives became aware of the reports that Barrett had met with Epstein, according to people briefed on the matter. Barrett left the bank on Monday, they added.

The departure marks the latest fallout for executives who knew Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges that he sex-trafficked underage girls.

Jes Staley, who handled JPMorgan’s relationship with Epstein, left his subsequent role as chief executive of Barclays in 2021 following an investigation by UK regulators into how he had characterised their association.

Two years ago, Leon Black quit his leadership positions at Apollo Global Management following an outcry over his ties to Epstein.

JPMorgan is scheduled to go to trial later this year over allegations that it benefited from Epstein’s crimes.

Lawyers for JPMorgan have described the claims as “meritless”. Deutsche Bank, which is also being sued by an alleged Epstein victim, has characterised her claims as “manufactured”.

The lawsuits against JPMorgan, one from the US Virgin Islands and another brought by the accuser, have brought to light alleged internal deliberations at the bank over its relationship with Epstein, which lasted from 1998 until 2013.

The suits have alleged that JPMorgan executives joked about Epstein’s interest in young girls.