Former Barclays CEO Used Mysterious Phrases Like ‘Snow White’ In Emails With Jeffrey Epstein: REPORT

Jes Staley, former chief executive of London-based bank Barclays, had an extensive correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to the Financial Times.

Staley, who resigned from Barclays last week following an investigation into his relationship with Epstein, reportedly exchanged roughly 1,200 emails with the sex offender over a four-year period between 2008 and 2012, according to the FT, citing people familiar with the correspondence. The emails were largely concerned with quotidian activities like news articles, but also contained cryptic phrases, including unexplained terms like “snow white.”

Staley’s lawyer, Kathleen Harris, did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment on the emails, but told the FT that the correspondence was perfectly benign.

“We wish to make it expressly clear that our client had no involvement in any of the alleged crimes committed by Mr. Epstein, and codewords were never used by Mr. Staley in any communications with Mr. Epstein, ever,” she said.

Staley’s relationship with Epstein began in the early 2000s, the FT reported, when Staley worked for JP Morgan and Epstein was a client of the bank. Staley visited Epstein on his island in the Caribbean, and Epstein advised Staley’s daughter for her college application, according to the FT.

Epstein died in an apparent suicide in August 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking of minors.

Staley stepped down from Barclays Nov. 1 following the announcement of the conclusion of an investigation into his relationship with Epstein led by United Kingdom regulators, according to a Barclays press release. The results of the investigation have not yet been made public.

“It should be noted that the investigation makes no findings that Mr. Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr. Epstein’s alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays’ support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Epstein in the summer of 2019,” Barclays said in the press release.