Deutsche Bank hit with $150 million penalty for relationship to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
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New York state financial regulators said that Deutsche Bank has agreed to a $150 million penalty related to the bank’s lack of oversight in dealings with accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a now-dead investor, as well as with two client banks.
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A consent order agreed to with the New York State Department of Financial Services covers Deutsche Bank’s relationship with Epstein, and correspondent banking relationships with Danske Bank Estonia and FBME Bank.
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Epstein, who died in what has been ruled a suicide while in jail, was a former friend of Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as Prince Andrew.
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His alleged procurer and former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was arrested on federal charges in New Hampshire in early July.
New York state financial regulators said Tuesday that they have slapped Deutsche Bank with a $150 million penalty “for significant compliance failures” in the bank’s dealings with accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a now-dead investor, as well as with two client banks.
The New York State Department of Financial Services said that Deutsche Bank, which agreed to the payment under a consent order, “failed to properly monitor account activity conducted on behalf of the registered sex offender despite ample” public information about Mr. Epstein’s earlier criminal misconduct.
The big settlement comes days after Epstein’s alleged procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell, was arrested on federal charges that accuse her of helping him get access to and groom underage girls so he could sexually abuse them.
The state said it was the first enforcement action by a regulator against a financial institution for dealings with Epstein.
The consent order covers Deutsche Bank’s relationship with Epstein, and correspondent banking relationships with Danske Bank Estonia and FBME Bank.
Download Deutsche Bank’s full editorial file here.
Deutsche Bank maintained a relationship Epstein, as well as with “related individuals and entities from August 2013 until December 2018,” when the bank ended its dealings with him after the Miami Herald published a series of stories about a federal nonprosecution deal that Epstein obtained in 2008 in Florida. Over time, the German company handled more than 40 accounts related to Epstein and related people and entities.
The Financial Services Department said that because of the bank’s oversight failure with Epstein, the “bank processed hundreds of transactions totaling millions of dollars that, at the very least, should have prompted additional scrutiny in light of Mr. Epstein’s history.”
More: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/07/jeffrey-epstein-case-deutsche-bank-fined-150-million-penalty-for-relationship.html