JP Morgan settles Epstein lawsuit, regrets 15-year relationship

JP Morgan has reached a preliminary agreement to settle a lawsuit involving alleged victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bank’s attorneys stated that the settlement serves the best interests of all parties, particularly the survivors who suffered from Epstein’s horrific abuse. The lawsuit claimed that the largest US bank disregarded warning signs about its client during a 15-year relationship.

The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. “We all now understand that Epstein’s behaviour was monstrous,” lawyers for the bank said in a statement on Monday. “Any association with him was a mistake and we regret it. We would never have continued to do business with him if we believed he was using our bank in any way to help commit heinous crimes.”

The settlement comes after weeks of embarrassing revelations about the extent of JP Morgan’s relationship with the late financier. In late February, long-time chief executive Jamie Dimon provided a formal statement under oath for the case, resulting in a day-long deposition from the bank’s headquarters in New York.

Lawyers representing the unnamed accuser who filed the suit – identified only as Jane Doe 1 – asked a federal judge on Friday to allow them to take new testimony from Dimon. They also requested to reopen depositions for three other key witnesses in the case.

Another lawsuit filed against the bank late last year in federal court is still pending. That case was brought on behalf of the government of the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned a private island with a mansion.

The financier kept hundreds of millions of US dollars in more than 50 accounts at JP Morgan between 1998 and 2013, five years after he pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. He was found dead at the age of 66 in a prison cell in 2019. New York City’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.

The Jane Doe 1 lawsuit stated that JP Morgan “knowingly facilitated, sustained and concealed” the frequent cash withdrawals Epstein made to pay the young women he trafficked, while profiting from the deals and clients that the financier brought in.

The bank, which earlier failed to dismiss the dual suits, has countered that any civil liability should rest with Jes Staley, a former top executive who befriended Epstein. Staley has said his former employer is trying to “deflect blame” for its own failures and sought to dismiss the claims, but the complaint against him remains active.

Last month, Deutsche Bank, where Epstein was a client after he left JP Morgan in 2013, settled for US$75m (£60m) with Epstein accusers. To date, the Epstein estate has paid out more than US$150m in settlements to over 100 victims.