Mandelson to Epstein: JP Morgan should ‘threaten’ UK over banker tax
Lord Peter Mandelson told Jeffrey Epstein that the boss of banking giant JP Morgan should “mildly threaten” the UK Treasury over a tax on banker bonuses whilst the peer was serving as business secretary.
New bombshell revelations in the latest drop of the Epstein files by the US Department of Justice showed Mandelson, who worked under continuous Labour governments, lobbying for additional pressure on the government so it softened a proposed supertax on bank bonuses.
The levy, which was introduced in the fallout of the financial crisis, dictated that bonuses over £25,000 would pay an additional 50 per cent tax rate.
In the week following Alistair Darling, who was Chancellor at the time, announcing the measures, Epstein wrote to Mandelson: “[A]ny real chance of making the tax only on the cash portion of the bankers bonus“.
Mandelson, who was forced to resign as British ambassador to the United States last year after more details of his links to Epstein emerged, responded that he was “trying hard to amend” but the Treasury was “digging in”.
Days later Epstein asked Mandelson whether Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan should “call Darling one more time”.
Mandelson responded: “Yes and mildly threaten”.
Mandelson’s deeper ties to JP Morgan
Darling pushed ahead with the tax, which collected more than £2bn from the banking industry.
JP Morgan was one of a number of clients a part of Mandelson’s advisory firm Global Counsel, which was established after he left government in 2010.
On Christmas Day in 2010, Mandelson messaged Epstein regarding his firm’s relationship with JP Morgan.
“If I am going to do something for JPM, it should be a discreet Global Counsel project, something that does not directly compromise my Lazard relationship and which also does not trample on Tony (Blair’s) territory,” he wrote. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair served as a paid adviser to Dimon at JPMorgan from 2008.
“My aim is to acquire enough knowledge and networks in time to participate in real deals,” Mandelson said.
The latest release follows the Labour party veteran unceremoniously resigning from the party on Monday in a bid to avoiding causing “further embarrassment” due his links to Epstein.
In his letter to Labour’s general secretary, Lord Mandelson said: “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.”
JP Morgan declined to comment.