D:eutsche Bank AG has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit filed by victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse accusing the bank of facilitating his sex trafficking, according to plaintiffs’ lawyers.
Deutsche Bank agreed to settle after U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled in March that a lawsuit filed only by a victim named Jane Doe could proceed against it, along with another Jane Doe’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. separate but almost identical claim. .
“The settlement will allow the dozens of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to finally try to restore their faith in our system, knowing that all the individuals and organizations that facilitated Epstein’s sex trafficking will finally be held accountable,” said Edwards Pottinger, a law firm. which brought the suit, the statement said.
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The lawsuits were allowed to proceed under the federal Victims of Trafficking Protection Act because the plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged that the banks “participated” in commercial sex trafficking. knew or ignored that force, fraud or coercion would be used; and benefited from their participation, the judge explained in a May 1 opinion detailing his initial decision.
JPMorgan is still fighting that lawsuit and is opposing the woman’s request to be allowed to represent other victims in the class action lawsuit.
Deutsche Bank has not admitted any wrongdoing, a person with knowledge of the agreement said. The bank said it had strengthened its controls.
“In recent years, Deutsche Bank has made significant progress in addressing a number of past issues, including investing more than 4 billion euros to strengthen our controls, training and operational processes,” bank spokesman Dylan Riddle said. statement. “We have since increased the size of our anti-financial crime team to 1,900.”
In their lawsuits, the women alleged that Epstein had access to large amounts of cash to promote his operations and avoided cash withdrawals that would have raised red flags. Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 1998 to 2013. After the bank cut ties with him, he moved his accounts to Deutsche Bank until 2018.
Epstein was charged with sex trafficking in 2019 and was found dead in his cell weeks later in what was believed to be a suicide.
Both banks have been accused by victims of ignoring red flags to profit from Epstein’s business.
The high-profile trial has shed new light on JPMorgan’s internal debate over whether to keep Epstein as a client amid mounting allegations of sexual abuse. Epstein’s relationship with Jess Steele has become a cornerstone of the trial, with Dow alleging that the former JPMorgan chief knew about Epstein’s crimes. Staley denied the accusation.
The US Virgin Islands is suing JPMorgan for facilitating similar activities, some of which took place on Epstein’s private island there. That lawsuit came after two Jane Doe lawsuits.
The cases are Jane Doe 1 v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 22-cv-10019; Jane Doe 1 v. Deutsche Bank, 22-cv-10018, and USVI v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 22-cv-10904-UA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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