Bank of America agrees to pay $72.5m to settle Epstein sex-trafficking suit

WASHINGTON: Bank of America has agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that the bank facilitated a sex trafficking ring orchestrated by Jeffrey Epstein, court documents showed Friday.

Bank of America said separately that while it continued to deny supporting Epstein's crimes, "this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs."

The suit, filed by an unidentified woman on behalf of herself and other alleged victims, claimed the bank's executives "ignored red flags" about Epstein's sex trafficking venture to provide him with banking and investment services.

The settlement, if approved in court, would avoid a potentially lengthy trial process and was deemed to be in the "best interests" of the plaintiffs.

It was the latest bank to settle lawsuits from Epstein's alleged victims, after a $75 million agreement by JP Morgan and a reported $75 million payment by Deutsche Bank, both in 2023.

Epstein, a billionaire hedge fund manager with a bevy of powerful and celebrity friends, was charged with sex trafficking of minors after being arrested in July 2019.

He had already been convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.

Epstein committed suicide while being held at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Centre in August 2019.

His case has remained politically charged, with continuing disputes over the release of investigative records and the extent of his network.

The US Justice Department's release of millions of files related to prosecutors' investigations of Epstein in recent months has embroiled several high-profile executives and politicians.