Prince Andrew accused of ‘extreme and outrageous conduct’ with Virginia Giuffre in latest US court battle

15 March 2023, 14:21 | Updated: 15 March 2023, 15:14

Lawyers have accused Prince Andrew of engaging in "extreme and outrageous conduct" with Virginia Giuffre as part of the latest court battle involving the royal.

Describing his actions as "continuous and severe", the Duke of York is alleged to have had sex with Ms Giuffre three times when she was 17 and became a victim at the hands of late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The latest claims surfaced in a US court after the 63-year-old royal and former friend of Epstein was named in a new case brought against banking giants JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank.

The financial firms stand accused of "facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes" by an unnamed woman - referred to as 'Jane Doe', as part of the case taking place in Manhattan, New York.

Last year Prince Andrew settled out of court as part of a lawsuit filed by Ms Giuffre reported to have been worth $12million (£10m).

However, the royal continues to assert his innocence in relation to the accusations brought by Giuffre, insisting the payout was not an admission of guilt.

Now, Ms Giuffre's lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, who is representing the unnamed woman, has accused the banks of facilitating Epstein's sex crimes in exchange for wealth clients brought to them by the disgraced businessman.

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As part of the case, Ms McCawley said Deutsche Bank was "incentivised" to keep Epstein "happy" as part of the mutually beneficial agreement.

The bank also stands accused of profiting from the subsequent business activities, as well as ignoring multiple red flags.

As part of the 90-minute hearing, the Miss McCawley added that for Deutsche Bank there was a 'quid pro quo' with Epstein, alleging he brought the firm millions of dollars in new money.

The legal team for Deutsche Bank, in turn, attempted to argue that an agreement signed by the unnamed woman and Epstein's estate as part of a compensation settlement signed in September last year were grounds for the case to be dismissed.

However, in what appears to be a passing of the buck, JP Morgan is now suing former CEO Jes Staley.

The bank argues she was at fault and should therefore be liable for any compensation paid to Doe as part of the case, as well more than $80m (£67m) paid to Epstein.