JPMorgan Chase Bank finds itself at the center of a lawsuit after it flagged over $1 billion in transactions linked to the late Jeffrey Epstein.
The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) alleges that these large transactions reinforce crucial claims in their case, arguing that the bank was well-aware and profited from Epstein’s illicit activities, ZeroHedge reports.
Mimi Liu, an attorney for the USVI, stated that “JPMorgan was a full-service bank for Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking.”
The recent court hearings brought to light the magnitude of Epstein’s financial dealings with JPMorgan, stretching over a span of 16 years.
These revelations have only now been unveiled.
Details of this suspicious financial activity were reported to the U.S. Department of Treasury in a 2019 filing, shortly after Epstein’s tragic death in a Manhattan detention center, post his arrest on grave charges related to sex trafficking.
Epstein’s association with JPMorgan persisted from the late 1990s and was only severed in 2013.
Disturbingly, Epstein is notorious for transporting several of his victims to an isolated island within the USVI.
In a defense stance, JPMorgan countered the allegations by highlighting its reports of approximately 150 cash dealings to federal authorities between 2002 and 2013.
However, in a recent revelation, the USVI informed the presiding judge that Epstein had orchestrated payments surpassing $1.1 million to “girls or women,” a majority of whom bore Eastern European surnames.
Notably, the bank had facilitated payments amounting to over $320,000 to multiple individuals who hadn’t received any identified payments from JPMorgan before.
The bank is under fire for allegedly concealing these payments until post the discovery phase, a crucial juncture in a lawsuit where evidence is exchanged.
In response, JPMorgan contested the USVI’s authority in the lawsuit, arguing that the islands do not have the legal right to accuse the bank of hindering a trafficking probe since it wasn’t directly harmed.
Liu has implored the judge to rule on several of the USVI’s allegations without necessitating a trial. Asserting her stance, she emphasized, “The only reason that JPMorgan after 16 years reported the $1 billion in suspicious transactions was because he was arrested and then he was dead.”
In its defense, JPMorgan insists on its ignorance regarding Epstein’s activities.
Current and former bank employees have testified, claiming no awareness of Epstein’s wrongdoings.
Feliia Ellsworth, representing JPMorgan, pointed out, “There is hotly disputed testimony and evidence.”
The ongoing legal battle, cited as USVI v. JPMorgan Chase Bank in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, sees the USVI demanding a minimum of $190 million from the banking giant.
