A US judge has ordered that two banks associated with the late Jeffrey Epstein will face litigation for allegedly facilitating his sex trafficking.
JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank were sued by two women who claim the billionaire sexually assaulted them. A complaint against JP Morgan from the US Virgin Islands was also approved by Judge Jed Rakoff. The banks, however, deny knowing of Epstein’s wrongdoing.
In a four-page judgment Mr. Rakoff noted that the women and the Virgin Islands government might try to make the argument the banks had “knowingly benefitted from participating in a sex trafficking venture”. He also gave the women the right to sue the banks for negligence and obstructing the enforcement of a federal anti-trafficking statute.
If the charges are confirmed in court, the banks may be held financially accountable for their dealings with the American financier.
Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking allegations, was a JP Morgan client from 2000 to 2013, then a Deutsche Bank client from 2013 to 2018.
The move comes after JP Morgan launched a lawsuit against Jess Staley, a top official at the bank who handled Epstein’s business, accusing him of neglecting to reveal potentially harmful information about his client.
