Banking Epstein: CEO for America's Largest Bank JPMorgan to Be Deposed in Trafficking Victim's Lawsuit
Deutsche Bank is Also a Defendant - Barclay's Investors Will Question Board Over Pedophile Connection
When Jeffrey Epstein held court like a Jay Gatsby from hell, he did it aided by the 'financial lifeblood' of banks that knew he was engaging in illegal activity and did not care. That is what a string of interconnected lawsuits is alleging in Federal Court in New York.
+++
A pair of 'twin' civil lawsuits have been brought by two sex trafficking victims. One of the suits is against JPMorgan Chase, and one against Deutsche Bank.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages for violations of sex trafficking and racketeering laws, for the banks have “knowingly benefited and received things of value for assisting, supporting, facilitating, and otherwise providing the most critical service for the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking organization.”
A third suit has been brought by the US Virgin Islands, where the disgraced financier had his infamous 'pedophile Island', also against JPMorgan Chase bank.
Now try and keep track, because a fourth suit was filed by JPMorgan Chase against its former top executive Jes Staley, who had a personal - and disturbing - relationship with Epstein. The bank wants Staley to reimburse them for any losses incurred due to the suits.
Most of the people that follow the Epstein Trafficking Ring saga over the years have, at one point or another, expressed their frustration with the absence of any judicial consequences to his many enablers, clients and co- conspirators.
I don't think that it was in anyone's bingo card that the first class of people to see some trouble would be bankers.
But, incredibly enough, that's where we are now, as the man once dubbed the 'Last King Of Wall Street' is set to testify under oath in a lawsuit moved by an Epstein trafficking victim identified only as Jane Doe 1.
"A federal judge ordered the JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO, Jamie Dimon, to set aside two days for depositions for what he knew about the bank’s relationship with the sex offender and former client Jeffrey Epstein.
The largest US bank faces lawsuits seeking damages by women who claim that Epstein sexually abused them, and by the US Virgin Islands, where the late financier had a home.
JPMorgan Chase defense team:
"The plaintiffs’ counsel know our CEO has no relevant knowledge, but persist with this media stunt. A review of more than two decades of emails and other documents makes it clear that he had no involvement with Epstein or his accounts. He does not recall ever meeting, speaking or communicating with him.”
American billionaire businessman and banker, James Dimon has been CEO of JPMorgan Chase since 2005.
Considered one of the "TopGun CEOs", he led the institution into becoming the largest U.S. bank in domestic assets under management, market capitalization value, and publicly traded stock value.
A Democratic donor, Dimon was rumored to serve in the Obama Administration as Secretary of the Treasury.
The banker's sworn behind-closed-doors deposition is scheduled to take place in May.
+++
Over the years, Dimon always stood up for his protégé Jes Staley, who had a long and deep friendship with Epstein, and whose 1200 emails with him have recently surfaced, containing potentially damning revelations.
A lawyer for the plaintiff Jane Doe 1 went further, declaring, during a hearing for the case: 'Jes Staley himself participated in the sexual abuse and sex trafficking, and witnessed it.'
And instead of shunning a convicted sex offender, says the lawsuit, the bank allowed his sex abuse and trafficking operation to thrive and expand by ensuring — no questions asked — he had an endless supply of cash to pay the girls he abused, often several each day, and those he had to pay off to keep quiet. By paying in cash, it's alleged, Epstein ensured he left no paper trail that could have led to his exposure far earlier."
If you are wondering why trillion-dollar corporations would risk having a convicted pedophile as a client, the answer was: 55 accounts containing hundreds of millions of dollars — used to pay more than 20 of his victims - and, even more than that, access to dozens of his even richer acquaintances and friends. Only two of those are identified in the lawsuits:
"One is Les Wexner, the billionaire retailer and owner of lingerie brand Victoria's Secret, the other Glenn Dubin, a successful hedge fund manager. Wexner reportedly deposited share certificates worth $1billion with the bank in 2002. However, it was Dubin — whose wife, Eva, is an ex-Miss Sweden and ex-girlfriend of Epstein — who proved most valuable to Staley after JPMorgan was able to acquire a controlling stake in Dubin's firm in 2004, earning Staley considerable kudos."
In 2013, JPMorgan let go of the 'toxic' Epstein.
The same group of lawyers is representing a different Epstein victim - referred to as Jane Doe 2 - in suing Germany's Deutsche Bank, which took over as Epstein's banker in 2013 and handled his affairs until 2018, a year before his final arrest.
Deutsche Bank accepted Epstein as a client in 2013 and kept him even after employees reported 40 underage girls making sexual-assault claims against him. The bank paid New York banking regulators a $150 million fine for its dealings with him.
+++
In the complex web of proceedings in this interconnected suits, it has now surfaced that JPMorgan Chase, being sued by Jane Doe 1, has filed a motion to know the Deutsche Bank's accuser Jane Doe 2's identity.
"The US bank said Friday in a letter filed in Manhattan federal court that it needed to know the Deutsche Bank Jane Doe’s identity because she may have knowledge of the inner workings of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and his relationships with associates like former JPMorgan executive Jes Staley.
Staley also asked for the identity of the Deutsche Bank Jane Doe, saying he needed it to avoid being subject to 'ambush' by JPMorgan, which is suing him to cover its potential liability for having Epstein as a client between 1998 and 2013."
Bradley Edwards, a lawyer representing both victims, opposed the revealing, adding that 'she [Jane Doe 2] had only limited information relevant to JPMorgan and Staley that did not outweigh her privacy interests.'
“Jane Doe 2 has clear privacy interests in not disclosing to them her name as an Epstein sex abuse victim,” Edwards wrote.
+++
Hang on, there's more: two years after JPMorgan Chase cut ties with Jeffrey Epstein, in 2015, Jes Staley paid him a final visit, dropping anchor off his Caribbean island fortress in his 90ft yacht.
Six months later, it was announced that Staley was Barclays' new £8.3 million-a-year chief executive.
Now, trouble is also brewing in the UK's banking giant.
"Proxy adviser ISS has said shareholders should use Barclays’ upcoming annual meeting to question the board over its support of Jes Staley, its former chief executive that directors continued to back despite revelations about his close friendship with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Staley was CEO for almost six years before stepping down in November 2021, when British regulators disclosed preliminary findings of a probe into whether he was sufficiently transparent about the nature of his relationship with Epstein.
[…] 'The decision to support Staley in the period between the death of Epstein and Staley’s resignation will draw scrutiny. There are questions over the judgement exercised during this period, given the particularly disturbing nature of the charges against Epstein, and their potential for reputational damage'.”
Barclays’ annual general meeting will be held in London on May 3, right around the time when Dimon will be questioned in the suits.
'Follow the money' is an age-old recipe for crime fighting. That means a tough time for bankers in the Epstein saga.
I love it when The Plan comes together