According to The Wall Street Journal, Deutsche Bank has reached an agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the bank of profiting from the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme. As part of this settlement, the bank will pay $75 million to the victims.
Law firms representing the plaintiffs described the settlement as groundbreaking and the result of a more than decade-long investigation to hold Deutsche Bank accountable for its role in facilitating Epstein’s trafficking organization. According to the lawsuit filed in New York last November, the bank chose profits over the law because it knew it would make millions of dollars by facilitating Epstein’s sex trafficking and because of its relationship with him.
The lawsuit was filed by an anonymous woman identified as Jane Doe, who alleges she was abused between 2003 and 2018 by Epstein and his friends. According to the plaintiff, the bank conducted business with Epstein for five years despite knowing he was using money from his bank accounts to further his criminal activity.
Dylan Riddle, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank, declined to comment on the deal, but said the bank has invested more than 4 billion euros in strengthening its controls, training and operational processes. According to Riddle, in recent years, Deutsche Bank has made considerable progress in solving problems of the past.
The law firm Edwards Pottinger, which represents the anonymous plaintiff, noted that this could be the largest settlement in U.S. history in a sex trafficking case involving a banking institution. The firm also stressed that this settlement will allow dozens of Epstein survivors to attempt to restore their faith in the legal system, knowing that all individuals and entities that facilitated Epstein’s sex trafficking operation will be held accountable.
In addition to Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan is also facing lawsuits related to Epstein. A former ballet dancer filed a lawsuit against the bank last November, alleging sexual abuse and trafficking by the offender between 2006 and 2013. U.S. Virgin Islands authorities have also sued JP Morgan Chase for facilitating and covering up sex trafficking perpetrated by Epstein.
Epstein was a JP Morgan client from 1998 to 2013, and then became a Deutsche Bank client after JP Morgan ended its banking relationship with him. According to the lawsuit, Deutsche Bank picked up exactly where JP Morgan left off and became the bank Epstein needed to fund his sex abuse and trafficking operation.