Deutsche Bank agrees to pay $75M to settle suit by Epstein accusers

(Reuters) — Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit by women who say they were abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and accused the German bank of facilitating his sex trafficking.

The accord resolves a proposed class action in Manhattan federal court and was confirmed by the accusers’ lawyers late Wednesday. Court approval is required.

Deutsche Bank was accused of missing red flags in Mr. Epstein’s accounts that he was engaged in wrongdoing.

Mr. Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to a Florida prostitution charge and registered as a sex offender, was a Deutsche Bank client from 2013 to 2018.

He died in August 2019 in jail while awaiting trial for sex trafficking, in what New York City’s medical examiner called a suicide.

A Deutsche Bank spokesman declined to discuss the accord, but the bank has acknowledged error in making Mr. Epstein a client.

The spokesman said Deutsche Bank has invested more than €4 billion to bolster its controls, processes and training, and hired more people to fight financial crime.

David Boies, one of the accusers’ lawyers, said in a statement that Mr. Epstein’s abuses required “the collaboration and support of many powerful individuals and institutions. We appreciate Deutsche Bank’s willingness to take responsibility for its role.”

A trial had been scheduled for Sept. 5.

The Wall Street Journal reported the settlement earlier and said Deutsche Bank did not admit wrongdoing, citing people familiar with the matter.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the settlement might affect JPMorgan Chase & Co., which faces lawsuits by Mr. Epstein’s accusers and by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the financier had a home.

Mr. Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 1998 to 2013, and court papers have outlined many details about the bank’s allegedly turning a blind eye to his activities.

A JPMorgan spokeswoman on Thursday declined to discuss those lawsuits.

She noted that JPMorgan has regretted its association with Mr. Epstein and said it did not believe it violated any laws.

The bank is separately suing Jes Staley, a former private banking chief who had been friendly with Mr. Epstein, to help cover its losses in the two lawsuits.

JPMorgan’s trials are scheduled for Oct. 23.