- JPMorgan raised concerns about Epstein’s cash withdrawals since 2002.
- Bank employees flagged suspicious activity and reputational risks early.
- Repeated warnings about potential money laundering.
According to Bloomberg, an HSBC office in Paris informed Epstein in 2007 that it was terminating its business partnership following the discovery of evidence of money laundering and other wrongdoing.
It is noteworthy because, up until 2008, when the disgraced financier admitted to obtaining kids for prostitution in Florida, this was the only recorded instance of a major financial institution severing connections with him.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandates that the Department of Justice make its records on the late sexual offender public, was signed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Additionally, he gave Attorney General Pam Bondi instructions to look into Epstein's connections to notable people including former President Bill Clinton.
In particular, they started to worry about money transactions involving young ladies connected to Jean-Luc Brunel's French modeling business. Brunel, Epstein's old companion, passed away in prison in 2022.
Additionally, compliance staff noted that withdrawals from Epstein's account "bore hallmarks of money laundering and other financial misconduct" and that the account "had numerous round-dollar deposits."
A few weeks later, the late sexual offender was notified of the bank's decision by Epstein's personal lawyer, Darren Indyke. In an email, he stated that Epstein's French attorney had requested an explanation from the HSBC branch.
“In other words, the cumulative dollar value of the suspicious transactions the bank reported after Epstein’s death in federal custody was nearly 300 times greater than the value of the transactions it flagged while he was alive and actively trafficking women and girls,”
the memo said.
What regulatory investigations followed the bank's handling of Epstein?
Senator Ron Wyden, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, initiated a disquisition into JPMorgan’s compliance failures, fastening on how elderly directors constantly overruled internal warnings about Epstein’s suspicious fiscal conditioning.
The inquiry sought details about the places of crucial JPMorgan directors, including CEO Jamie Dimon, and why the bank delayed form Suspicious exertion Reports( SARs) until after Epstein’s arrest in 2019, despite warnings.
The disquisition revealed JPMorgan underreported Epstein’s suspicious deals by vast quantities while he was alive, filing numerous reports only retroactively after his death. JPMorgan’s running was blamed as enabling Epstein’s crimes by ignoring red flags and failing to warn law enforcement instantly.