Banks' Billion-Dollar Blind Spot: Ignoring Suspicious Transactions Linked to Epstein
A new report by US Senator Ron Wyden alleges that major banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America ignored suspicious transactions linked to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The report, which reviewed thousands of Suspicious Activity Reports, found more than $1.4 billion in suspicious wire transfers over two decades.
The banks were required under the Bank Secrecy Act to report suspicious transactions, but instead they looked the other way while collecting millions of dollars in fees from Epstein. JPMorgan Chase earned $8.1 million from Epstein between 2009 and 2014, despite ending their relationship in 2013.
The suspicious transactions included payments to women and girls, as well as tens of millions of dollars sent to convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Wyden is proposing reforms that would hold senior banking executives personally accountable for failing to report suspicious activity and strengthen anti-money laundering rules.