Barclays has suspended millions of pounds in bonus share awards to former boss Jes Staley amid an investigation by British regulators into his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Staley announced in November that he was stepping down from his role as head of the multinational banking group after Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced preliminary conclusions of a probe into his ties to Epstein. The bank revealed in its annual report published Feb. 22 (pdf) that amid the probe it had decided to freeze long-term bonus and share payments for Staley. “In line with its normal procedures, the committee exercised its discretion to suspend the vesting of all of Mr Staley’s unvested awards, pending further developments in respect of the regulatory and legal proceedings related to the ongoing Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulatory Authority investigation regarding Mr Staley,” the bank said in the report. According to the bank’s annual report for …