Democrats Urge CEO Jamie Dimon to Testify on Bank’s Relationship with Convicted Sex Offender, Credit: Wall Street Journal
Ten Democratic Senators are calling for a congressional hearing to investigate JPMorgan Chase’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The senators, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), are urging the Senate Banking Committee to hear testimony from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and other executives about what they knew regarding Epstein’s criminal activities, according to WSJ.
Epstein, a client of JPMorgan for approximately 15 years, had dozens of accounts at the bank’s private division. He remained a client even after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. The senators’ letter to Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), chair of the Senate Banking Committee, states, “The American people deserve to know what happened at JPMorgan and other banks that financed Mr. Epstein.”
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A spokeswoman for JPMorgan told WSJ that the bank “regrets” its association with Epstein, calling it a “mistake.” The bank ended its relationship with him in 2013, six years before his 2019 arrest on federal sex trafficking charges. The spokeswoman added that the federal government had “damning information” on Epstein that was not made public at the time.
JPMorgan has faced lawsuits regarding its handling of Epstein, leading to settlements totaling around $365 million with his victims and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The bank did not admit wrongdoing in the settlements. The lawsuits centered on the bank’s decision to keep Epstein as a client despite concerns flagged by compliance officers.
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While Dimon has stated he never met Epstein, a top executive, Mary Erdoes, reportedly met with him twice before his accounts were closed, according to the Journal. The bank has also sought to assign blame to former executive Jes Staley for the relationship, suing him before reaching a settlement. Staley has stated he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes.
The senators’ letter also requests that representatives from other financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank, which took Epstein on as a client after JPMorgan, be questioned.
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