US lawmakers propose bill to investigate Wall Street executives linked to Epstein
US lawmakers have unveiled a bill that would require federal regulators to investigate banks and executives linked to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The proposal, known as the Epstein Wall Street Records Act, is led by Senator Elizabeth Warren and House Representative Robert Garcia. It is also backed by House Republican Thomas Massie. The Guardian
If passed, the measure would direct regulators including the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees securities markets, to examine firms and executives described as "Epstein connected" for potential breaches of banking, investment or illicit funding laws. Regulators could fine offenders or ban them from the US financial sector.
The bill would also require regulators to publicly disclose records relating to Epstein and his associates and to refer potential criminal violations to the US Justice Department. It follows a months-long investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex-trafficking charges.
Warren, who serves as Ranking Member, the senior opposition member, of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, accused Barclays of "dodging responsibility" over its failure to vet former chief executive Jes Staley and his ties to Epstein. In February, she had sent a letter criticising federal regulators for failing to hold Epstein-linked bankers to account.
Staley, an American who ran the British bank Barclays for nearly six years, resigned in November 2021 after UK regulators began examining his relationship with Epstein. He had met Epstein in 2000 during his three-decade career at JPMorgan.
A later investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority, Britain's financial watchdog, was prompted by more than 1,200 emails between the two men. It concluded they were "indeed close" and that the relationship went beyond a professional nature. Staley was banned from the UK financial sector in 2023 for playing down those ties, and later failed to overturn the ban in a court challenge over misleading the watchdog.
Staley arrived on Capitol Hill on July 23 to testify at a closed-door congressional hearing related to Epstein, where he said he had no friendship with Epstein. Reuters The Justice Department has previously cautioned that material related to Epstein could include fake images or untrue allegations, as well as pornographic material.
