A federal judge on Thursday gave the green light to JPMorgan Chase’s $290 million settlement with women who revealed that Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused them, and alleged that the financial giant knew about Epstein’s conduct and turned a blind eye.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff called the deal “a really excellent settlement” that could curtail future sex trafficking by providing consequences for banks who refuse to report transactions relating to it, Reuters reported. “This case sent a message through this very substantial settlement that banking institutions … have responsibilities that perhaps were not fully recognized in the past,” the judge said.
The settlement — which was initially agreed to in June — comes after disclosures revealed that JPMorgan ignored internal warnings and failed to investigate red flags relating to Epstein because he had been a longtime valuable client. Epstein was a client with the firm from 1998 to 2013.
The financial giant continued to offer him their services even after he was arrested on prostitution charges in 2006 and later pleaded guilty two years later.
JPMorgan did not admit any wrongdoing in agreeing to the…
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