Former JPMorgan Chase executive Jes Staley told House investigators Thursday that he discussed Jeffrey Epstein's criminal exposure with CEO Jamie Dimon on at least two occasions, contradicting Dimon's previous sworn testimony that the two never spoke about the disgraced financier's legal troubles, reported Politico.
According to people familiar with the closed-door interview before the House Oversight Committee, Staley said he spoke with Dimon in 2006 after Epstein was indicted in Florida and again in 2008 after Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges involving a minor and served a jail sentence.
If accurate, the testimony directly conflicts with statements Dimon made during a sworn deposition in civil litigation over JPMorgan's relationship with Epstein. In that testimony, Dimon said he never discussed Epstein or the bank's relationship with him with Staley.
JPMorgan denied Staley's account.
"No such conversation ever occurred, and Staley lacks credibility," bank spokesperson Patricia Wexler said in a statement, citing findings by a U.K. tribunal that questioned Staley's credibility during separate regulatory proceedings.
Staley spent more than three decades at JPMorgan, where he led the bank's private banking business and oversaw relationships with wealthy clients, including Epstein.
The bank continued doing business with Epstein for years after his 2008 conviction, a decision that later became the focus of lawsuits and congressional scrutiny.
House investigators are examining what senior executives knew about Epstein and when they knew it, as well as how decisions were made to retain him as a client despite mounting concerns about his conduct.
Staley has acknowledged maintaining a relationship with Epstein but has repeatedly denied knowingly enabling or participating in any criminal activity.
He resigned as chief executive of Barclays in 2021 after British regulators investigated how he described his ties to Epstein.
He was later barred from holding senior positions in the U.K. financial industry.
The House Oversight Committee has interviewed several current and former financial industry executives as part of its broader investigation into Epstein's network and the role major institutions may have played in maintaining relationships with him.
The committee has not indicated whether it will seek testimony from Dimon. But Staley's account introduces a direct factual dispute between the two former JPMorgan executives that could become a central issue as lawmakers continue investigating the bank's handling of its relationship with Epstein.