Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the German bank facilitated the late Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, according to plaintiffs’ attorneys.
The lawsuit was filed last year in New York by a woman listed in court records as Jane Doe 1 on behalf of herself and other accusers, alleging Deutsche Bank did business with Epstein for five years when he knew he was involved in sex trafficking.
Deutsche Bank has not admitted any wrongdoing in the settlement, a person familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com on Wednesday.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys, from the law firms Boies Schiller Flexner and Edwards Pottinger, said they believed the $75 million settlement was the largest sex trafficking settlement involving a banking institution.
Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the German bank facilitated the late Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring
Deutsche Bank has not admitted any wrongdoing under the settlement, a person familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com on Wednesday.
“This groundbreaking settlement is the culmination of two law firms conducting more than a decade of investigation to hold one of Epstein’s financial banking partners accountable for the role he played in facilitating his organization of traffic,” the law firms said in a joint statement to the the wall street journalwho first reported the settlement.
A Deutsche Bank spokesperson declined to discuss the settlement or comment on specifics when contacted by DailyMail.com.
However, the bank pointed to an earlier statement in which it acknowledged making Epstein a client was a mistake.
“We recognize our mistake in integrating Epstein in 2013 and the weaknesses in our processes. We have learned from our mistakes and deeply regret our association with Epstein,’ the bank said in a public statement in July 2020.
Deutsche Bank also says it has invested more than $4.3 billion to strengthen its controls, processes and training, and hire more people to fight financial crime.
The settlement resolves claims in the proposed class action lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court by Epstein’s accusers and has been affirmed by their attorneys. Court approval of the agreement is still required.
The tiny island of Saint-Jacques, one of the properties of financier Jeffrey Epstein, is seen in an aerial view. The island was known to locals as “Pedophile Island” and “Sin Island”
The New York mansion that belonged to Jeffrey Epstein is seen in a file photo
Epstein had been a client of Deutsche Bank from 2013 to 2018, a period following his guilty plea in Florida for procuring a minor for prostitution.
David Boies, one of the accusers’ lawyers, told Reuters that Epstein’s abuse “could not have happened without the collaboration and support of many powerful people and institutions”.
“We appreciate Deutsche Bank’s willingness to take responsibility for its role,” he added.
A trial in that case was scheduled for September 5.
It was not immediately clear how the settlement might affect JPMorgan Chase, which faces similar but even larger lawsuits from Epstein’s accusers and from the US Virgin Islands, where the financier had a private island.
Epstein was a client of JPMorgan from 1998 to 2013, a time when prosecutors say he trafficked numerous women and underage girls.
Court documents in that case described numerous allegations that the bank ignored or turned a blind eye to Epstein’s activities.
Epstein’s longtime associate, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison for helping him recruit and groom underage girls.
The Deutsche Bank case was led by an unidentified plaintiff, known as Jane Doe 1, who said Epstein sexually assaulted her from 2003 to 2018.
Another Jane Doe 1, a former ballet dancer who said Epstein trafficked her from 2006 to 2013, leads the accusers’ case against JPMorgan.
Epstein died behind bars in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking dozens of girls as young as 14. The New York Medical Examiner ruled her death a suicide.
Epstein’s longtime associate, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison for helping him recruit and groom underage girls for at least a decade.
Maxwell, 61, is currently serving his sentence at FCI prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She appealed her conviction.
