Investment bank JPMorgan Chase has reached a settlement with the US Virgin Islands and its former executive Jes Staley to end a lawsuit accusing it of ignoring the illegal activities of ex-financier Jeffrey Epstein, reports Reuters.
JPMorgan ChasePhoto: Richard Levine / Alamy / Profimedia Images
The settlement is one of the latest pieces in a saga of major lawsuits related to Epstein’s sexual abuse of women, a scandal that has involved powerful names in business, finance, and politics.
JPMorgan said it would pay the US Virgin Islands $75 million to settle the lawsuit, with $30 million to be donated to charities, $25 million to strengthen anti-trafficking efforts and $20 million for attorneys’ fees. .
The bank has not admitted to any wrongdoing as part of the deal. The terms of the settlement with Staley, a former friend of Epstein’s and former head of JPMorgan’s personal banking division, are confidential.
The US Virgin Islands accuses investment bank JPMorgan Chase of ignoring red flags in financial documents about Epstein’s activities on Little St. James, a private island he owned in the archipelago.
In May, authorities here subpoenaed South African billionaire Elon Musk to testify in the trial, after previously subpoenaing Larry Page, one of Google’s two co-founders and another Epstein acquaintance.
Jeffrey Epstein continues to give trouble to his bankers 4 years after his death
Epstein died in his cell in a Manhattan prison in 2019 following a suicide that sparked numerous conspiracy theories because of his close ties to influential people in Washington and the rest of the world.
The financier was in detention awaiting trial in which he was indicted for sexual assault on minors and trafficking in live meat.
Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 1998 to 2013, with court documents revealing numerous details about how the bank turned a blind eye to his activities that should have raised red flags.
The investment bank, one of Wall Street’s biggest players, has sued Jes Staley, the former head of its private banking division, who had a friendly relationship with Epstein, to cover its potential damages settlement of court.
The settlement announced by JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday comes after another financial giant, Deutsche Bank, agreed in May to pay an additional $75 million to settle another Manhattan lawsuit in which it was subpoenaed over ties to Epstein.
However, that lawsuit had been filed by Epstein’s victims, not the American authorities, as in the case of the Virgin Islands.
