Manhattan prosecutors allowed access to records in JPMorgan Epstein case

JPMorgan Chase can examine Manhattan prosecutors’ records related to the litigation over its decision to retain Jeffrey Epstein as a client, a New York judge ruled Friday, barring any potential allegations involving former executive Jess Staley. Includes complaints of sexual harassment.

The US lender first sent subpoenas to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office earlier this month, calling James ‘Jess’ Staley personally an alleged witness or accused of any sexual assault, sexual abuse, or other sex-related crimes. Was requested to give statement as an alleged perpetrator of ”.

The bank has sued Staley, seeking to hold him liable for damages to pay in connection with two cases brought against JP Morgan by the Epstein accuser and the US Virgin Islands, where the late sex offender was the house of The accuser’s case alleges that Staley raped her and witnessed her being abused by Epstein. Staley has strongly denied these allegations, calling them “outrageous”.

The order from Judge Jed Rakoff, who is overseeing the cases in Manhattan federal court, came hours after JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon began answering questions under oath about his knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, as he Legal calculations were made on the Bank’s decision to retain. Reached the pinnacle of Wall Street as a client.

The sworn testimony, which America’s largest lender tried to prevent from happening, marks a significant escalation in two high-profile cases over JPMorgan’s 15-year relationship with Epstein that has embarrassed some current and former executives. Has done and cast an unflattering light. Bank’s internal compliance procedures. The deposition will take place behind closed doors and is scheduled to last for two days.

Dimon’s name has already cropped up in controversial litigation, with the lawsuit against JPMorgan filed late last year. He was referred to in an internal email expressing concern about Epstein, which included the words “pending Dimon review”.

Mary Erdos, a top JPMorgan executive, told lawyers in a sworn affidavit in March that Dimon was solely in charge of overseeing Staley, who had been at the bank for decades and managed the relationship with Epstein for a period, According to people familiar with the matter. JPMorgan’s lawsuit against Staley alleges he misled the bank about Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a statement, JPMorgan said its boss had never met Epstein, “spoke with him,[or]emailed with him, and was not involved in any decisions regarding his account”. The bank continued: “The plaintiffs know this based on decades of searching and millions of emails. . . yet they continue to seek publicity.

Yet the cases remain one of the few spots on the executive’s copy book for a long time. He recently announced spending nearly $16 billion in JPMorgan, leading Wall Street’s lobbying efforts for a deal on the US debt ceiling to avoid default, and one of the failed lenders in a government-led auction Caught the First Republic. ,

JPMorgan first took Epstein on as a client in 1998 and continued to bank him until 2013.

Dimon is expected to testify that he had no knowledge of several internal red flags raised about Epstein’s accounts. Nonetheless, the cases have raised more general questions about the strength of the bank’s controls.

“It’s really not good news if Dimon didn’t know,” said a person familiar with the bank’s organizational structure. “If no one reached out to him in the nearly decade of continuing to bank (Epstein), when they knew about his conduct and when it was public, that’s probably even worse news.”

JP Morgan called Epstein’s plan a “monster” and expressed regret for having him as a client. “Ultimately, any association with (Epstein) was a mistake. . . but we didn’t help him commit his heinous crimes.”

Last week, Deutsche Bank settled separate claims related to Epstein for $75 million, which will be shared among dozens of women.

The stakes may soon be even higher for JPMorgan. Dimon is being ousted on Friday, after a federal judge in New York will hear arguments from representatives of Epstein’s accusers, who argue that dozens, if not hundreds, of women should be entitled to compensation from the bank, which they accused of profiting from human abuse. make allegations. Smuggling.

On the eve of Dimon’s deposition, JP Morgan turned a blind eye to the US Virgin Islands, alleging in court filings that the territory’s authorities had turned a blind eye to Epstein’s crimes, and even issued visas to some of his victims. Had done it.

“Epstein could have lived anywhere in the world. He chose the USVI,” JP Morgan lawyers said. “They protected and rewarded him by granting him[millions of dollars]in tax incentives. . . looking the other way when he passed through USVI airports with girls and young women.

In response, the Attorney-General’s Office of the US Virgin Islands stated that such allegations were “a clear attempt to deflect blame from JPMorgan Chase, which had a legal responsibility to report evidence of Epstein’s human trafficking, and failed to do so”.

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida. He was charged with sex trafficking by federal prosecutors more than a decade later, and died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.