US bank flagged Epstein-linked transactions worth over $1 billion as potentially tied to human trafficking
The report, filed during the last Trump administration, also flagged sensitivities around Epstein’s “relationships with two U.S. presidents"
JP Morgan warned the US government about more than $1 billion in transactions linked to Jeffrey Epstein that were possibly related to reports of human trafficking, new documents confirm.
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The largest bank in the US filed a suspicious activity report (SAR) in 2019 about transactions linked to the paedophile financier, prominent business figures and Russian banks.
JP Morgan’s report said it had flagged about 4,700 transactions, totalling more than $1 billion, that were potentially related to reports of human trafficking involving Epstein.
The report, filed during the last Trump administration, also flagged sensitivities around Epstein’s “relationships with two U.S. presidents”.
Epstein is known to have been close to President Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
The report was included in a release of previously sealed court records that were made public on Thursday after requests from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
The documents included other SARs that JPMorgan filed in the years before Epstein’s 2019 arrest about large cash withdrawals, the New York Times reported.
Among the names highlighted in JPMorgan’s suspicious activity report are: Leon Black, co-founder of private equity firm Apollo Global Management and former MoMA chairman; billionaire hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin; celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz; and trusts linked to retail magnate Leslie Wexner.
The report offered few specifics about the suspicious transactions or why they raised red flags, other than their apparent ties to Epstein.
None of the named individuals have been charged with crimes in connection with the disgraced financier.
JPMorgan itself is also under scrutiny after it worked with Epstein for over a decade, during which he is believed to have sexually abused over 200 young women and girls, as young as 14.
However, a spokesperson for the bank stated that the documents indicated JPMorgan had made repeated efforts to alert regulators to concerns surrounding Epstein by filing suspicious activity reports.
According to The Times, the bank also said it regretted its involvement with Epstein but was not aware of his sexual abuse.