UT (Tax & Chancery) UT-2023-000064 - [2025] UKUT 00203 (TCC)

On 30 May 2023 the Financial Conduct Authority (“the Authority”) through its Regulatory Decisions Committee issued a decision notice (the “Decision Notice”) to the Applicant (“Mr Staley”).

In the Decision Notice the Authority decided that Mr Staley was in breach of three provisions of the Authority’s Handbook, namely ICR 1 (the requirement to act with integrity), ICR 3 (the requirement to be open and cooperative with regulators) and SMCR 4 (the requirement to disclose appropriately any information of which the Authority would reasonably expect notice). The Authority decided to impose upon Mr Staley a penalty of £1,812,800 and to make an order prohibiting him from performing any senior management or significant influence function in relation to any regulated activity carried on by an authorised person, exempt person or exempt professional firm pursuant to s 56 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”).

In brief, the Authority considered that Mr Staley had recklessly and with a lack of integrity approved a letter being sent to the Authority on 8 October 2019 (the “Letter”) that contained misleading statements, (i) as to the nature of his relationship with Mr Jeffrey Epstein (“Mr Epstein”) and (ii) as to the time that they were last in contact. The Letter said that the relationship was not close and that the last contact was well before the Applicant joined Barclays Bank plc (“Barclays”) as its Chief Executive Officer in December 2015. The Authority contends that both these statements were inaccurate and misleading.

On 26 June 2023 Mr Staley referred the Authority’s decision to the Tribunal. He denies that the Letter contained misleading statements.