The Banks That Looked Away: JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank

Follow the Money

Two of the world's largest banks maintained accounts for Jeffrey Epstein long after his 2008 conviction — and long after internal compliance officers flagged suspicious activity. The resulting lawsuits revealed a pattern of willful blindness driven by the profits Epstein generated.

JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan maintained Epstein's accounts from 1998 to 2013, processing hundreds of millions of dollars. Internal compliance alerts were repeatedly overridden by senior bankers, particularly Jes Staley, who maintained a personal friendship with Epstein. In 2023, JPMorgan settled the U.S. Virgin Islands lawsuit for $290 million — one of the largest sex trafficking settlements in history. A separate class-action by Epstein victims settled for an additional $75 million.

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank onboarded Epstein as a client in 2013 — after JPMorgan finally dropped him, and after his sex offender conviction was public knowledge. The bank processed over $150 million in transactions through Epstein's accounts. In 2020, Deutsche Bank was fined $150 million by the New York State Department of Financial Services for compliance failures.

Jes Staley

The former head of JPMorgan's private bank exchanged over 1,200 emails with Epstein between 2008 and 2012. Despite this, Staley was promoted to CEO of Barclays. He resigned in 2021 after an investigation into his Epstein ties.

Jamie Dimon

As CEO of JPMorgan, Dimon denied knowledge of the Epstein relationship. Internal documents and deposition testimony suggest otherwise. The bank's own compliance systems flagged Epstein's activity multiple times.