US Senator Elizabeth Warren has sent a private letter to Barclays, one of Britain's biggest banks, giving it two weeks to answer questions about how it handled information on the links between its former CEO, Jes Staley, and Jeffrey Epstein. The letter, obtained and reviewed by The Guardian, was sent on behalf of Warren — the most senior Democrat on the US Senate Banking Committee — and Congress members Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi, both of whom sit on the US House Oversight Committee. The Guardian

The timing was deliberate: the letter arrived hours before Staley was due to be questioned in a private hearing by the House Oversight Committee. Warren, Khanna, and Krishnamoorthi are effectively pursuing the matter at the same time across both chambers of Congress.

The lawmakers' letter presses Barclays on a specific and uncomfortable question: whether the bank ever looked into what went wrong with its hiring process that allowed the board to bring on a CEO with ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It also invokes the leverage Congress can bring to bear. The letter states that holding a banking licence and operating in the United States is a "privilege" that depends on the character and fitness of the people running the bank. A banking licence is official permission to run a bank in a country; if Barclays lost its US licence, it could no longer manage roughly $200 billion (£150 billion) in American assets.

At the centre of the congressional pressure is a striking admission by Barclays chair Nigel Higgins. He conceded that he had not asked Staley about his last contact with Jeffrey Epstein before telling the Financial Conduct Authority — the UK's main banking regulator — that the last contact was "well before" Staley joined Barclays. That declaration proved consequential. Staley was forced to step down as Barclays CEO in 2021 after UK regulators launched an investigation into his relationship with Epstein. He was subsequently banned from the UK banking industry. Staley tried to overturn the ban in a UK court hearing in June 2025 but lost.

The Staley–Epstein relationship traces back to 2000, when Staley became head of JP Morgan's private bank and Epstein was a client. Staley reportedly exchanged 1,200 emails with Epstein, as reported by The Guardian in November 2021. Staley went on to become CEO of Barclays in 2015. Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges.

Warren's letter to Barclays is the latest in a sustained congressional campaign targeting financial institutions' ties to Epstein. In October 2025, Warren urged US regulators to investigate Staley's ties to Epstein, asking whether US bankers including the ex-Barclays boss aided the late sex offender. The following month, US regulators stated they were "taking seriously" allegations of bankers' support for Epstein, following Warren's calls. The Guardian

The scrutiny extends beyond Barclays. Warren pressed JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon in July 2026 about his contact with Epstein, citing emails in the Epstein files that she said raised questions about Dimon's relationship with the late sex offender. The Senate Banking Committee's letter to Dimon regarding Epstein is dated July 10, 2026. The Guardian

Separately, the Senate Banking Committee sent a letter to the FDIC, OCC, and Federal Reserve — the three main US agencies that oversee banks — regarding Epstein investigations, dated February 25, 2026, which cited a Guardian report from February 5, 2026 about a rape allegation against Staley.

The broader context here is one of growing congressional pressure meeting regulatory action on both sides of the Atlantic. The UK regulator's ban on Staley, upheld by a court in mid-2025, established that Barclays' board failed to adequately check its CEO's Epstein connections. Warren's letter now asks whether the bank itself ever looked inward at the breakdown that allowed Staley to be hired in the first place. By invoking US banking licences as dependent on management "character and fitness," lawmakers are signalling that this is an ongoing eligibility question for Barclays' American operations, not just a look back at the past.

For institutions watching from the sidelines, the message is that the Epstein fallout has not run its course. Warren has systematically worked through the major US-connected financial institutions with Epstein exposure — pressing Dimon at JP Morgan, demanding answers from Higgins at Barclays, and engaging federal regulators at the FDIC, OCC, and Federal Reserve. The two-week deadline imposed on Barclays means the bank's response, or lack thereof, will likely become the next flashpoint in a saga that has already cost a CEO his career and his industry access.