JPMorgan will pay $75 million to settle US Virgin Islands lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein over bank-facilitated sex trafficking of pedophiles
JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands over the bank’s customer relationship with sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
The bank confirmed the settlement in a statement to DailyMail.com on Tuesday morning, saying it admitted no liability as part of the deal but “deeply regrets” its association with Epstein.
The settlement includes $30 million going to U.S. Virgin Islands charity groups working to combat sex trafficking, $25 million to the territory’s government to fund law enforcement, and $20 million in attorneys’ fees.
The territory had sued JPMorgan for at least $190 million, saying the bank ignored red flags about convicted sex offender Epstein because he was a wealthy and lucrative client from 1998 to 2013.
The settlement, which must be approved by a judge, concludes JPMorgan’s last major lawsuit related to Epstein, after the bank agreed in June to pay out $290 million to resolve a lawsuit that was brought by the victims of the predator.
JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands over the bank’s customer relationship with sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
In a separate case, Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands in July to avoid any legal claims related to Epstein.
JPMorgan is the largest bank in the US, with approximately $3.7 trillion in assets, and has a market capitalization of approximately $422 billion.
The bank’s shares fell less than one percent after the settlement was announced Tuesday.
JPMorgan said in a statement that the settlement with USVI “is in the best interests of all parties, especially those who stand to benefit from anti-trafficking efforts, and for survivors who suffer unimaginable abuse at the hands of these criminals.”
“The company deeply regrets any relationship with this man and would never have continued to do business with him if it believed he was in any way using the bank to commit his heinous crimes,” JPMorgan said.
The bank also said it had reached a confidential settlement to resolve its claims against former director Jes Staley, who had accused the bank of concealing knowledge of Epstein’s actions and vouching for him internally.
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