Lawsuit said the bank knowingly profited from Epstein’s sex trade and “chosen profit over following the law.”
Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the German lender should have seen evidence of sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein when he was a client, according to lawyers for women who say they were abused by the deceased financier.
A woman identified only as Jane Doe sued the bank in federal district court in New York, seeking class action status to represent other victims of Epstein. The lawsuit alleged that the bank knowingly profited from Epstein’s sex trade and “chosen profit over following the law” to make millions of dollars off the businessman.
One of the law firms representing women in the case, Edwards Pottinger, said it was the largest sex trafficking settlement with a bank in U.S. history.
“The settlement allows dozens of Jeffrey Epstein survivors to finally attempt to restore their faith in our system, knowing that all individuals and entities who facilitated Epstein’s sex trafficking will finally be held accountable,” the company said in a statement.
Deutsche Bank would not comment on the settlement on Thursday, but noted a 2020 statement from the bank acknowledging its mistake in taking on Epstein as a client, said Frank Hartmann, the German lender’s global head of media relations.
“The Bank has invested more than 4 billion euros [$4.3bn] to strengthen controls, processes and training and hire more people to fight financial crime,” Hartmann said in a written statement.
The Boies Schiller Flexner law firm, which also represents plaintiffs, called the settlement an important step for victims’ rights.
“The scope and magnitude of Epstein’s abuse, and the many years it lasted in plain sight, could not have happened without the cooperation and support of many powerful individuals and institutions,” said David Boies, the company’s chairman, in a statement.
High quality figures
Deutsche Bank had previously joined JPMorgan Chase, who also faces a lawsuit over its ties to Epstein, in fighting the allegations. Epstein died by suicide in prison while facing federal criminal charges of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.
The German lender said late last year that it provided “routine banking services” to Epstein from 2013 to 2018 and that the lawsuit “doesn’t come close to making a conclusive claim that Deutsche Bank … was part of Epstein’s criminal sex trafficking ring.”
The lawsuits – which are also against the government of the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein had an estate – are attracting some high-profile figures.
A US judge ruled last month that Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, must be questioned for up to two days by lawyers handling the lawsuits.
The Virgin Islands government is also seeking to subpoena billionaire Elon Musk as part of its own lawsuit against JPMorgan, accusing the banking giant of enabling Epstein’s recruiters to pay victims and helping cover up his decades of sexual abuse.
JPMorgan has denied the allegations and in turn has sued former executive Jes Staley, saying he hid Epstein’s abuse and trafficking in order to keep the financier as a client. A Staley attorney had no comment on the lawsuit when it was filed in March.