It’s been almost four years since the financier flew high Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in a New York cell after being arrested for sex trafficking. But according to officials from the US Virgin Islands, bank JPMorgan Chase knew about Epstein’s activities long before he was taken into custody, allowing him to abuse victims at a property he on that territory.
The charges were first made in a lawsuit filed last year, which claimed that “the bank should have known about Mr. Epstein’s illicit activities at a mansion on Little St. James,” New York Times reported last December.
That mansion, characterized by Independence is “a Zen-like retreat” with a staff of 70 uniformed workers, said to have had an enviable guest list over the years, including Epstein’s clients and confidants Prince Andrewmodel Naomi Campbellperformer Kevin Spaceycomedian Chris Tucker, and physicist Stephen Hawking. Visitors would arrive by private jet, a similar means of transport later known as the “Lolita Express,” as those planes are also believed to carry Epstein’s alleged victims to and from Island.
“JPMorgan provided and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers through which recruiters and victims were paid and which were integral to the operation and concealment of the business. trafficking Epstein,” the lawsuit reads, citing a civil fraud lawsuit it filed in 2020 against Epstein’s assets. In that lawsuit, settled for $105 million, the U.S. Virgin Islands outlined an elaborate scheme in which the territory was tricked into allowing Epstein’s conduct to continue unchecked. control.
Epstein was a JP Morgan Chase client from 1998 to 2013, when the bank said it had ended the relationship – five years after the disgraced financier was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution. a teenage girl. In the end, the bank agreed to a $290 million settlement with a group of alleged Epstein victims, who also claimed that the financial institution must have known about his activities, especially because he remains a registered sex offender after the 2008 case.
In a court filing on Friday, the U.S. Virgin Islands said that in addition to providing millions of dollars in payouts, JP Morgan Chase should scrutinize “the root cause of its failures.” failure of the bank in its banking relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and identifying missed opportunities to report criminal activities,” CNN reported.
“For more than a decade, JPMorgan was well aware that it was not complying with federal regulations for accounts related to Epstein, as evidenced by efforts that were too slow after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges. federal law and shortly after his death, when JPMorgan (JPM) belatedly complied with federal law,” the lawsuit states.
So far, JP Morgan has denied the territory’s claims. In fact, the report of New York Times “it argues that the Virgin Islands government has done little to prevent any illegal activity” and even secured his private compound at his request. A spokesman for the bank said the arguments in Friday’s filing “have no solid basis and are being challenged in court by JPM.” Patricia Wexler speak.
US Virgin Islands Attorney General Ariel Smith remained undaunted, however, and told The Wall Street Journal that the territory is ready to continue the case. “I’m glad the victims got some sort of compensation from the bank,” Smith said, “but more needs to be done to hold JPMorgan Chase accountable and to make sure this doesn’t happen to another person. other generations of women and girls.”
The test, if it continues, is expected to begin in October.
