JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
Lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands and JPMorgan Chase have struck a deal that will have bank CEO Jamie Dimon answer questions under oath about the organization’s dealings with Jeffrey Epstein.
The news comes after much wrangling over whether Mr. Dimon would be deposed in the pending lawsuit against the bank, in which the USVI claims that JPMorgan turned a blind eye to the criminal exploits of Epstein, a convicted sex offender, while handling his business accounts. The bank denies the allegations, and says any impropriety in the relationship was solely due to former executive Jes Staley. JP Morgan is suing Staley in an effort to have a court rule that he is liable for any damages that may be awarded as a result of the pending lawsuits against it.
Initially, JPMorgan had resisted the idea of having Mr. Dimon deposed, saying that he was not involved in anything connected to Epstein, but the Financial Times broke the news earlier that the bank’s attorneys had a change of heart. A cache of Mr. Dimon’s documents, larger than what the attorneys had initially proposed, has already been ordered turned over by the presiding judge.
In late December, then USVI Attorney General Denise George filed suit against JPMorgan, alleging that the bank should have known about Epstein’s illegal activity, and as part of its anti-money laundering procedures, should have reported their client to authorities. Instead, George accuses the bank of ignoring the sex trafficking operations that went on on Epstein’s private island in the USVI, Little St. James.
Shortly after filing the suit, Ms. George was fired by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. who said he was irritated by her lack of communication over such a consequential move.
