Deutsche Bank pays up to $75 million to settle lawsuit by Jeffrey Epstein accusers

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Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay up to $75 million to settle a lawsuit filed by an anonymous woman who claimed the lender benefited from human trafficking by keeping Jeffrey Epstein as a customer.

The pseudonym Jane Doe, who she said was abused by Epsteinfirst filed the proposed class-action lawsuit against Deutsche in November after a New York law allowed sexual abuse claims in which the statute of limitations had expired for a limited time.

He said the German bank “chose profit over following the law” and knew it would “make millions of dollars facilitating Epstein’s sex trafficking.”

Dozens of women may eventually share in the damages, which will be distributed in amounts determined by an administrator who assesses individual claims, people familiar with the matter said. The applicants could get up to $5 million each, the people said.

The settlement draws a line under one of three lawsuits involving Epstein’s lenders. Two others target JPMorgan Chase, who is being sued by another alleged victim, and the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a home. JPMorgan led to fourth seed against former executive Jes Staley, accusing him of lying about his relationship with Epstein.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys said they believe the amount paid by Deutsche it was “probably the largest sex trafficking deal involving a banking institution in U.S. history.”

In a joint statement, Doe’s representatives at Edwards Pottinger and Boies Schiller Flexner said the settlement was “the culmination of two law firms conducting more than a decade-long investigation to hold one of Epstein’s financial banking partners accountable.” of the role played in facilitating its organization of trafficking”.

Deutsche paid $150 million to the New York State Department of Financial Services in 2020 over its relationship with Epstein and internal compliance failures and last year it agreed to pay $26 million to shareholders who accused the bank of misleading them during the vetting process of customers.

The Frankfurt-based lender had tried to get Doe’s case droppedarguing a settlement he struck with the Epstein estate in April 2022 — in which he received $7.4 million — he also covered the lender’s liability.

He also argued that Doe’s “deficient” complaint “didn’t come close” to an adequate charge that Deutsche was part of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.

Deutsche declined to comment on the deal.

In recent years, Deutsche has invested 4 billion euros to improve its internal compliance systems, building a more than 1,900-strong anti-financial crime team, said a person familiar with the matter.

The bank first hired Epstein as a client in August 2013, soon after JPMorgan dropped him amid concerns over his sexual misconduct and reported it was paying victims in cash.

Paul Morris, a former JPMorgan banker who moved to Deutsche, had advised the bank that Epstein might bring lucrative clients with him, according to court documents. Deutsche finally dropped Epstein as a client in December 2018.

Epstein, his friends and the entities he controls opened more than 40 accounts with the bank, according to court documents, depositing a grand total of more than $110 million in assets.

In his order partially denying Deutsche Bank’s attempt to drop the case, Judge Jed Rakoff, who is overseeing the litigation, said Epstein “solicited Deutsche Bank’s advice on how to structure his withdrawals so as to evade notice. . . and was protected from Deutsche Bank’s failure to submit suspicious activity reports.”

He said it was “plausible” that Deutsche had benefited from human trafficking and agreed to let the case proceed to trial.

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to a state charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida. He was charged by federal prosecutors with sex trafficking in 2019 and died in prison by suicide while awaiting trial.