đź’µ Deutsche Bank Agrees to $75 Million Settlement With Victims of Jeffrey Epstein to Settle Federal Lawsuit
Deutsche Bank has agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement in a federal lawsuit filed by victims of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to settle claims that the institution enabled his crimes by doing business with him.
As reported by CNBC, the $75 million “bombshell deal still leaves JPMorgan Chase to defend its own would-be class action lawsuit by Epstein accusers in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, which involves similar allegations.”
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who previously stated that the bank is not responsible for the sex trafficking activities of its former customer, is scheduled to be deposed in the lawsuit filed against the bank. The deposition is in relation to the lawsuit filed by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as another related suit, both set to take place on May 26, CNBC reported.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the $75 million settlement. CNBC reported:
Under the deal, victims of Epstein who were affected by his sex trafficking during the time when he was a customer of Deutsche Bank, from 2013 through 2018, would receive at least $75,000 and up to $5 million depending on an evaluation of their claims.
Deutsche Bank spokesman Dylan Riddle would not comment on the deal, but noted that his bank has spent more than 4 billion euros [$4.34 billion] to strengthen internal financial controls.
“In recent years, Deutsche Bank has made considerable progress in remedying a number of past issues,” Riddle said.
He pointed out that in 2020, when JPMorgan agreed to pay a $150 million fine to New York’s financial regulator for its involvement with Epstein and other matters, Deutsche Bank had noted: “We acknowledge our error onboarding Epstein in 2013, and the weaknesses in our processes, and have learnt from our mistakes and our shortcomings.”
The two law firms representing the accusers, Edwards Pottinger and Boies Schiller Flexner, in a joint statement obtained by CNBC, said: “This groundbreaking settlement is the culmination of two law firms conducting more than a decade-long investigation to hold one of Epstein’s financial banking partners responsible for the role it played in facilitating his trafficking organization.”
The lawsuit, filed in November by a woman identified as Jane Doe, sought class-action status. In the suit, Jane Doe alleged that Deutsche Bank had knowingly engaged in and financially profited from Epstein’s sex trafficking activities by providing the necessary financial support to sustain the operation.
“Deutsche Bank also knew that Epstein would use means of force, threats of force, fraud, abuse of legal process, exploitation of power disparity, and a variety of other forms of coercion to cause young women and girls to engage in commercial sex acts,” the suit claimed.
