Deutsche Bank has reached a settlement of $75 million in litigation related to its alleged financial involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking scheme, as reported on Wednesday. The settlement stems from a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in November 2022 by an anonymous defendant, who claimed that Deutsche Bank conducted business with Epstein while being aware that he used the funds for sex trafficking activities, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Sources familiar with the matter stated that Deutsche Bank did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement. A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the matter. The original complaint, filed in a US court in New York, alleged that Deutsche Bank financially benefited from supporting Epstein's sex trafficking organization and facilitated the sexual assault and coercion of "Jane Doe 1" and numerous others.
Epstein, a financier who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex crimes, became a client of Deutsche Bank in 2013 after JPMorgan Chase closed his accounts, as reported by the Journal. A similar lawsuit was brought against JPMorgan late last year by an unidentified woman, possibly related to the current Deutsche Bank case, along with the US Virgin Islands. The suits accused JPMorgan of facilitating Epstein's crimes by disregarding warnings and maintaining him as a client until 2013.
The subpoenas issued in these cases have targeted various well-known individuals whom Epstein potentially referred to JPMorgan as clients, including Elon Musk and Google co-founder Larry Page, according to court documents. JPMorgan has denied the allegations and has filed a separate lawsuit against a former executive for his connections to Epstein.
In July 2020, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $150 million to settle allegations made by the New York Department of Financial Services regarding compliance failures related to its work for Epstein. In a statement at the time, Deutsche Bank acknowledged the mistake of onboarding Epstein in 2013, identified weaknesses in their processes, and expressed that they had learned from their mistakes and shortcomings.
Epstein previously faced conviction in Florida in 2008 for soliciting underage girls for massages but served only 13 months in jail under a secret plea deal. Prior to his death, he was facing charges of trafficking underage girls for sex and died by suicide in a New York jail in August 2019.
