JP Morgan Chase (JPMC) is suing former top executive Jes Staley over his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Wall Street giant claims Mr Staley failed to disclose potentially damaging links to the late sex trafficker.
A lawyer for Mr Staley declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.
JPMC is facing lawsuits from the US Virgin Islands and an unnamed woman who claims it supported Epstein’s sex trade by allowing him to remain one of his clients.
The bank is seeking to hold Mr Staley liable for any penalties it could face if it is found that she aided Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes in the two trials.
The lawsuits allege Mr Staley “personally observed” Epstein abuse women and “spent time with young girls” he met through the disgraced financier, JPMC said in a filing before a Wednesday Federal Court in Manhattan.
“Staley insisted for years – from at least 2006 until his departure from JPMC in 2013 – to protect Epstein in the face of JPMC’s attempts to end the company’s relationship with Epstein, omitted material information, made false statements, and did so continue to do so,” says the company.
“As a result of Staley’s disloyal service, JPMC is entitled to recover any compensation paid to Staley during the period of his disloyalty,” it added.
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Mr. Staley held various roles at JP Morgan from 1979 to 2013. From 2001 he was chief executive of the bank’s wealth management before heading up the corporate and investment banking business from 2009.
Mr Staley resigned as chief executive of British bank Barclays in November 2021 following an investigation into his ties to Epstein.
At the time, Mr Staley said he was “shocked, angry and upset” by the findings and that he would contest them.
In February 2022, Barclays issued millions of dollars in bonus shares to Mr. Staley.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell on August 10, 2019 while awaiting his sex trafficking trial with no chance of bail.
It came more than a decade after his conviction for soliciting underage prostitution, for which he was registered as a sex offender.
This time Epstein has been accused of running a “huge network” of underage girls for sex. He pleaded not guilty.
Mr Staley has described his relationship with Epstein as professional. He said his contact with Epstein “lost” around 2013 when he left JP Morgan.
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