Jes Staley set to be deposed in JPMorgan lawsuits over Epstein ties

Jes Staley is scheduled to be deposed next week in US litigation that alleges JPMorgan Chase, his former employer, facilitated sex trafficking by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

JPMorgan last week sued Staley in an attempt to make him liable for any penalties the bank might have to pay if it is found liable in the lawsuits, brought by an alleged Epstein victim 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 disclosed in a court hearing in Manhattan on Thursday, where Staley was represented by Brendan Sullivan, a senior partner at Williams & Connolly whose past clients include Colonel 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 pivotal role in handling Epstein’s relationship with the bank. Staley has previously denied any involvement in Epstein’s alleged crimes.

The judge in the case, Jed Rakoff of the southern district of New York, on Thursday also moved the date for trial from September 5 to October 23, in part in order to accommodate the increased involvement by Staley’s legal team. Staley is not a defendant in either case against JPMorgan.

JPMorgan has said the cases have no merit and asked the court to dismiss them. Rakoff said he would try to rule by the end of March.

The two lawsuits have provided the most complete picture to date of JPMorgan’s relationship with Epstein, who was a client of its private bank for wealthy customers from 1998 until 2013.

The court documents have alleged JPMorgan executives overlooked warnings by its risk and compliance teams about Epstein’s links to child trafficking and molestation of young girls.

They have also shown messages in which Staley advocated for JPMorgan to continue its business relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges that he sex-trafficked 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 at Barclays in 2015. He stepped down in 2021 after an investigation into his ties to Epstein by UK regulators.