Ex-Barclays boss denies Snow White sex claim in Epstein transcripts

The image is almost too absurd to process: a former CEO of one of Britain's biggest banks, under oath, denying a sexual encounter with a woman in a Snow White costume. But that's exactly what Jes Staley told US lawmakers last month, according to transcripts released this week. The denial came during a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee, which is probing how Jeffrey Epstein's network operated and who enabled it. Staley, who ran Barclays from 2015 to 2021, was questioned about an email exchange with Epstein that referenced Disney princesses - a thread that investigators have linked to potential trafficking activity. Staley flatly rejected the implication, saying he never had sex with anyone dressed as Snow White, or any other Disney character, for that matter. The exchange is one of several revelations from the transcripts, which paint a picture of a man trying to distance himself from a relationship that has already cost him his job and his reputation. Staley first met Epstein in the early 2000s, when both were rising figures in New York finance. They became close enough that Staley visited Epstein's office and even used his private jet. After Epstein's arrest in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges, Barclays launched an internal review of Staley's ties to him. The review found that Staley had misled the bank about the nature of his relationship, and he resigned in November 2021, forfeiting up to £15 million in potential pay. The Snow White question is not just a tabloid curiosity. It goes to the heart of what Staley knew about Epstein's activities and when. The email exchange in question, which took place in 2015, reportedly included Epstein joking about Disney princesses and Staley responding in kind. Investigators have suggested that the language may have been a coded reference to underage girls, a theory Staley has repeatedly denied.