BARCLAY's Asian chief executive has condemned the “moral depravity and corruption” exposed in newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents, as the UK bank confronts fresh scrutiny of former boss Jes Staley’s links to the convicted child sex offender.
CS Venkatakrishnan, making his first public remarks since US authorities began publishing material from the Epstein files in December, said he was “very, very deeply dismayed and shocked” by the latest revelations and that his “heart really goes out to victims of this scandal and these crimes”, the Guardian reported.
He declined, however, to comment directly on the detailed allegations against Staley.
Venkatakrishnan’s comments come as Barclays reported a near 13 per cent rise in 2025 profits to £9.1 billion and set out plans to return more than £15bn to shareholders between 2026 and 2028, with fourth-quarter earnings up 12 per cent.
US prosecutors examined claims in 2019 that Staley assaulted women, including accusations of rape and physical harm, but there is no indication those allegations led to charges, and Staley has always denied wrongdoing.
In a UK court hearing in 2025, he acknowledged having sex with a member of Epstein’s staff in New York, while agreeing under cross-examination that he would describe the encounter as consensual.
Barclays has given no sign it plans to reopen its own internal inquiries, with a senior executive saying the bank had “nothing further to add” when asked if the latest disclosures had triggered any new review.
The lender, its chair Nigel Higgins and Staley are still fighting a class action in the US. New York and Missouri pension funds claim they were misled about how close Staley was to Epstein from 2019 onwards.
They say they lost money when the UK Financial Conduct Authority later released its findings and banned Staley from the City.
Staley, who quit Barclays in 2021 after preliminary FCA conclusions, failed in his attempt to overturn the ban and forfeited about £18m in pay and bonuses.
