The bank has agreed to a settlement in the trial surrounding US bank JP Morgan Chase’s involvement in the abuse cases involving sex offender and hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein. JP Morgan announced it had committed to paying $75 million to the US Virgin Islands. The bank also reached an out-of-court settlement with its former employee Jes Staley. Details about this were not known.
Epstein was a customer of the bank from 1998 and 2013 and exchanged around 1,200 emails with Staley during this time. The lawsuit filed by the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a residence, accused JP Morgan of ignoring various warnings about Epstein and thus enabling his crimes. JP Morgan, in turn, had sued Staley in order to pass on any fines for Epstein to him. Staley was Epstein’s main contact at the bank, and emails revealed that his acquaintance with Epstein went well beyond business. JP Morgan emphasized in a statement that the settlement does not imply an admission of guilt, but wrote that the company deeply regrets its business relationship with Epstein.
In June, the bank agreed to pay $290 million in a lawsuit brought by an Epstein victim. Deutsche Bank also agreed in May to pay $75 million to Epstein’s victims. Epstein was a customer there from 2013 to 2018 after JP Morgan terminated his account.