US lawmakers unveil bill to hold Wall Street’s ‘Epstein-connected’ bosses to account

The proposed bill follows a months-long investigation into Jeffrey Epstein who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex-trafficking charges. Photograph: Uma Sanghvi/APView image in fullscreenThe proposed bill follows a months-long investigation into Jeffrey Epstein who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex-trafficking charges. Photograph: Uma Sanghvi/APBankingUS lawmakers unveil bill to hold Wall Street’s ‘Epstein-connected’ bosses to accountMove comes as Senator Elizabeth Warren condemns Barclays response to questions over ex-boss’s ties to sex offender

US lawmakers have unveiled a new bill to hold Wall Street’s “Epstein-connected” bosses to account for helping finance the late sex offender’s crimes.

It came as top Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren condemned the UK bank Barclays for “dodging responsibility” over its failure to vet former boss Jes Staley and his ties to the once well-connected billionaire.

A bipartisan group of politicians, led by Warren and House representative Robert Garcia, are introducing a bill on Thursday known as the Epstein Wall Street Records Act. The bill follows a months-long investigation into the financier, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex-trafficking charges.

If passed, the bill would force regulators including the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate “Epstein connected” financial firms and executives for potential breaches of banking, investment or illicit funding laws; and fine or even ban wrongdoers from the US financial sector.

The bill – which is also being backed by House Republican Thomas Massie – will also force regulators to publicly disclose any records relating to Epstein and his associates; and refer any potential criminal violations to the US justice department.

Warren said: “Since the big banks won’t hold themselves accountable – and the Trump administration won’t either – Congress must act to force real transparency and accountability for them and their executives who enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.”

News of the bill came as Warren condemned the bosses at Barclays, one of the UK’s biggest banks, over their failure to adequately answer questions about its former chief executives Jes Staley and his links to Epstein.

Staley’s ties with the well-connected billionaire spelled the end of his career. The American banker resigned from Barclays in November 2021, after UK regulators started investigating the true nature of his relationship with Epstein, whom he met in 2000 during his three-decade stint at JP Morgan.

View image in fullscreenA FCA investigation concluded that Jes Staley and Jeffrey Epstein had a relationship that ‘went beyond one that was professional in nature’. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ReutersThe Financial Conduct Authority’s original investigation, triggered by a cache of more than 1,200 emails between Staley and Epstein, concluded that the pair were “indeed close” and had a relationship that “went beyond one that was professional in nature”.

Staley was eventually banned from the UK’s financial sector in 2023 for playing down those ties, and failed to overturn that decision in a court battle that revealed intimate details of the pair’s friendship last year.

That included Staley admitting to having sex with a member of Epstein’s staff in New York – an encounter he said was “consensual”. The case also revived a 2010 exchange referring to Disney princesses, in which Staley said: “That was fun. Say hi to Snow White.” Staley denied knowledge of the exchange during a UK court hearing.