One of Epstein's victims sues banks, they deny liability

Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon have asked a federal court to dismiss lawsuits accusing them of knowingly aiding and abetting the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein.

According to the victim's lawsuit, filed by a woman posing as Jane Doe, the banks ignored numerous warning signs about Epstein's human trafficking because they prioritized profit over protecting victims. She alleges that the banks should have reported the suspicious activity to U.S. authorities, which could have contributed to his earlier capture.

Bank of America, however, argues that it only provided routine services to people with no known ties to Epstein. Bank of New York Mellon, for its part, denies that Epstein was a client and calls the allegations insufficient. Both banks agreed that they could not have reasonably foreseen that their actions would cause harm to the plaintiff.

In previous cases, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank reached settlements of $290 million and $75 million, respectively, without an admission of guilt.

Epstein committed suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being accused of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual abuse by his friends and acquaintances. On Thursday, his communications with Slovakia's former foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak also came to light.

(reuters, max)