Bank of America settles Epstein abuse lawsuit

Bank of America has settled a civil lawsuit brought by women who accused the bank of enabling their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, according to court records released on Monday. The class action was filed in October by a woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe.

She alleged that the second-largest bank in the United States ignored suspicious financial transactions linked to Epstein despite information about his criminal activities. The bank rejected the claims, saying it had provided standard banking services to clients who, at the time, were not known to be connected to Epstein.

In January, the Manhattan federal judge Jed Rakoff ruled that the bank must face allegations that it knowingly profited from Epstein’s human trafficking activities. The settlement agreement still requires Rakoff’s approval.

The lawsuit also referred to financial transactions that included payments to Epstein from Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black. Black stepped down as the firm’s chief executive in 2021 after it emerged that he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and wealth management advice.

Epstein died in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

(Reuters, Max)