JPMorgan settles Epstein sex trafficking lawsuit with US Virgin Islands, to pay $75million

US banking giant JPMorgan Chase has reached an agreement with the US Virgin Islands (USVI) to settle claims that it had empowered disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of teenage girls. The parties reached a settlement just weeks before a trial was scheduled to begin at a federal court in Manhattan.

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The bank did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement which will give $55 million to Virgin Islands charities and the American territory's anti-trafficking efforts. The remaining amount will cover attorneys' fees incurred by the Virgin Islands as part of the litigation in federal court in New York.

"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," JPMorgan said

The settlement comes in the backdrop of JPMorgan, the largest US bank, agreeing to pay $290 million to nearly 200 victims of Epstein in a similar class action lawsuit.

The lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase

The Virgin Islands government sued the bank in December last year, alleging that it knew about Epstein's predatory behaviour. It added that the bank turned a blind eye to evidence of human trafficking for over a decade as Epstein's account and the clients he brought to the bank made him extremely valuable.

Earlier, the US Virgin Islands subpoenaed documents from billionaire Elon Musk as part of its lawsuit against the bank. Google co-founder Larry Page was also to be served the same legal document but the government failed to locate him.

The government said it had been unable to locate Page, who co-founded and co-owns Alphabet Inc, despite good faith attempts, which included hiring an investigative firm to search public record databases.

WATCH |Private Islands owned by Jeffrey Epstein

What did Epstein do?

Epstein was accused of sexually exploiting dozens of underage girls, some as young as 14, at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida between 2002 and 2005.

However, the majority of his sexual exploits took place on the 72-acre Little St. James Island which he purchased in 1998 for $7.95 million. He later bought the 160-acre Great St. James Island for $20 million in 2016.

(With inputs from agencies)

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