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Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million US ($101 million Cdn) to settle a lawsuit alleging that the German lender should have seen evidence of sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein when he was a client, according to the lawyer of a woman who says she was abused. the last financier.
A woman identified only as Jane Doe is suing the bank in federal district court in New York and seeking class action status to represent Epstein’s other victims. The lawsuit alleges that the bank knowingly benefited from Epstein’s sex trade and “chose profit over law enforcement” to get millions of dollars from the businessman.
One of the law firms representing the women in the case, Edwards Pottinger, said it was the largest sex-trafficking settlement with a bank in US history.
“The settlement will allow the dozens of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to finally restore their faith in our system knowing that all individuals and entities that facilitated Epstein’s sex trafficking operation will finally be held accountable,” the company said in a statement.
The bank says it made a mistake in taking on Epstein as a client
Deutsche Bank would not comment on Thursday’s settlement, but noted a 2020 statement from the bank admitting mistakes in taking on Epstein as a client, said Frank Hartmann, the German lender’s head of global media relations.
“The bank has invested more than 4 billion euros [$5.8 billion Cdn] to improve controls, processes and training, and hire more people to fight financial crime,” Hartmann said in a written statement.
Law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, which also represents the plaintiffs, called the settlement an important step forward for victims’ rights.
“The scale and scale of Epstein’s abuse, and the years it has continued to unfold, could not have happened without the collaboration and support of many powerful individuals and institutions,” David Boies, the company’s chairman, said in a statement.
Deutsche Bank previously joined JPMorgan Chase, which also faces lawsuits over its ties to Epstein, in fighting the allegations. Epstein killed himself in prison while facing federal criminal charges of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.
Lawsuits draw high figures
The German lender said late last year that it provided “routine banking services” to Epstein from 2013 to 2018 and that the lawsuit “does not sufficiently establish that Deutsche Bank … was part of Epstein’s criminal sex trafficking ring.”
The lawsuit — which also targets the government of the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein owns property — has drawn several high-profile figures.
A US judge ruled last month that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon must face up to two days of questioning by lawyers handling the lawsuit.
The Virgin Islands government is also trying to impeach billionaire Elon Musk as part of its own lawsuit against JPMorgan, accusing the banking giant of allowing Epstein’s recruits to pay off victims and help cover up decades of sex abuse.
JPMorgan denied the allegations and sued former executive Jes Staley, saying she covered up Epstein’s abuse and trading to keep the financier as a client. An attorney for Staley did not comment on the lawsuit when it was filed in March.
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