In order to settle a lawsuit charging the largest U.S. bank with disregarding the s…x trafficking of the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein, the U.S. Virgin Islands demanded that JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) pay at least $190 million and probably much more.
The territory requested that JPMorgan forfeit at least $40 million in profits from its 15-year partnership with Epstein and pay a $150 million civil penalty in a Friday petition in federal court in Manhattan.
Along with paying punitive damages, separating its business and compliance functions, and hiring a compliance expert, it also demands that JPMorgan pay damages to make up for Epstein’s victims.
JPMorgan stated in a statement that it has made attempts to settle the issue but that the filing “does not reflect the nature of settlement conversations.”
The bank further described the U.S. Virgin Islands’ damage claims as “misdirected” and “not well founded.”
The U.S. Virgin Islands’ case has now been valued for the first time thanks to its submission on Friday.
The territory wants JPMorgan to be held accountable for giving Epstein access to banking services from 1998 to 2013, allowing him to compensate his victims, and ignoring internal alerts and other warning signs because it valued Epstein as a high-end client.
Even the $40 million figure, according to the statement, does not include the “difficult to quantify” value of Epstein allegedly connecting JPMorgan to prominent figures like Britain’s Prince Andrew and the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
In the area, Epstein owned two adjacent islands, including one that officials claim he purchased to prevent people from spying on him as he sexually assaulted young women and girls on the other. Epstein died by suicide in August 2019.
Oct. 23 will see a trial.
Big Pay-outs
The lawsuit is the most significant unresolved Epstein case.
Numerous Epstein accusers filed a case against JPMorgan, which JPMorgan agreed to settle for $290 million last month. Epstein was also a client of Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), which reached a $75 million settlement in May. Both agreements still need final judicial approval.
The U.S. Virgin Islands received more than $105 million from Epstein’s estate, while the financier’s accusers received more than $125 million.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier’s ex-girlfriend, was found guilty in December 2021 of supporting his wrongdoing.
JPMorgan has attempted to assign culpability elsewhere in the U.S. Virgin Islands case.
It claimed that the territory “actively facilitated” Epstein by granting him tax breaks and removing the need for s..x offender monitoring in return for money or presents for the local police and influential figures like former first lady Cecile de Jongh.
JPMorgan is suing Jes Staley, a former executive in charge of private banking and investment banking who was once close to Epstein, separately to recover its losses in the two lawsuits it is facing.
Epstein’s s..x trafficking has been rejected by Staley numerous times, despite his frequent expressions of regret for his connection with him. His tenure as CEO of the British bank Barclays (BARC.L) from 2015 to 2021 followed Epstein’s departure from JPMorgan by a few months.
