Deutsche Bank settles with Epstein victims for $75m

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75m to settle a proposed class action from victims of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who claim the bank should have identified evidence of wrongdoing in his accounts.

According to press reports, the lawsuit alleged Deutsche Bank should have raised the flag over suspicious transactions and accused the bank of benefitting from Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking by having him as a client.

The suit was brought by a single victim, who sought class-action status to widen the case to other victims.

Lawyers for the claimants said the settlement holds to account those who “facilitated Epstein’s sex trafficking operation”. They argue the scale of Epstein’s abuse could not have happened without the collaboration of institutions.

Deutsche Bank has settled the case without admitting any wrongdoing, averting a trial scheduled for September. It had previously said it provided regular banking services to Epstein between 2013 and 2018.

JPMorgan also faces legal action for its links to Epstein, who was convicted of paedophilia but committed suicide while on trial for sex trafficking charges. The case against JPMorgan is currently scheduled to take place in October.