A new investigation reveals how Jeffrey Epstein worked with JPMorgan Chase while carrying out his sex-trafficking operation.
JPMorgan Chase, one of the world’s top banks, worked with Epstein from the late 1990s until 2013, even as employees raised concerns about him, according to a new report by The New York Times. Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges.
JPMorgan Chase processed more than 4,700 transactions for Epstein, which totaled more than $1.1 billion and included payments to his victims, the Times reports. It wasn’t until 2019 that JPMorgan opened an internal investigation - called Project Jeep - and filed a report with federal regulators, retroactively flagging these transactions as suspicious, according to the outlet.
Epstein was also regularly withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars in cash nearly every month, which should have set off internal alarms, the Times reports. The bank also set up accounts for women who turned out to be Epstein’s victims, according to the Times.
JPMorgan spokesperson Joseph Evangelisti told the Times the bank’s relationship with Epstein “was a mistake and in hindsight we regret it, but we did not help him commit his heinous crimes.”
“We would never have continued to do business with him if we believed he was engaged in an ongoing sex trafficking operation,” Evangelisti said.
The Independent has contacted JPMorgan Chase for comment.
Bank staff started expressing concern about Epstein in 2006, after he was charged with soliciting prostitution from a teenager, theTimes reports. Epstein struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to state charges of solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of prostitution with a minor in June 2008.
Staff flagged Epstein’s regular withdrawals as potential markers of illicit activity and expressed concern about keeping him on as a client after he was charged, the Times reports. However, bank executives overrode staffers’ concerns and opted to keep Epstein as a client on at least four occasions. The bank’s general counsel also concluded that Epstein was a reputational risk in 2011, but did not insist that he be removed, according to the outlet.
The Times also reported that Jes Staley, a former executive at the bank, had a close relationship with Epstein. The executive often traveled to Epstein’s properties and turned to him for advice, according to the outlet. Evangelisti pinned the blame for the bank’s Epstein scandal on Staley, who was close with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, telling the Times their trust was “misplaced.”
Dimon has previously said that he had barely heard of Epstein before 2019. However, the Times reports Staley said in sworn deposition that he discussed Epstein with Dimon on at least two occasions, and concerned staff members suggested Dimon could have been in the loop.
Staley did not comment to the Times. The Independent has contacted Staley’s U.K.-based attorney for comment.
The bank sued Staley in 2023, accusing him of hiding Epstein’s crimes to keep him on as a client, the Associated Press reports. Staley’s attorneys accused the bank of making baseless claims and using the former executive as a “public relations shield.” The bank and Staley settled later that year under undisclosed terms.
Staley has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
After leaving JPMorgan Chase in 2013, Staley went on to become CEO of Barclays in 2015 but resigned from the post in 2021. The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority has since fined Staley and barred him from holding senior roles in the financial services industry following an investigation into his relationship with Epstein.
Staley admitted in a U.K. court earlier this year that he had sex with a member of Epstein’s staff in an apartment owned by Epstein’s brother, The Guardian reports. Staley described the encounter as “consensual.”
JPMorgan Chase has also been sued over its work with Epstein. In 2023, the bank paid $290 million to settle a lawsuit brought by 200 of Epstein’s victims.
“While the settlement does not involve admissions of liability, the firm deeply regrets any association with this man, and would never have continued doing business with him if it believed he was using the bank in any way to commit his heinous crimes,” the bank said in a statement at the time.
The bank paid another $75 million in 2023 to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where many of Epstein’s crimes happened.
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