Deutsche Bank to pay $75m to avoid sex scandal

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay a record $75 million (£60 million) to settle a lawsuit in which the bank was accused of facilitating the illegal activities of financier Jeffrey Epstein, including human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

This is reported by the ВВС.

The woman, who anonymously called herself "Jane Doe", filed a lawsuit against one of the largest German banks. She claims that the bank cooperated with Epstein, turning a blind eye to his activities and realizing that the financier was using his accounts for illegal purposes.

The plaintiff stated that Deutsche Bank "chose profit over following the law" as it knew it would "earn millions of dollars from facilitating Epstein's sex trafficking".

"Jane Doe" claims that Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused her and sold her to his friends for around 15 years while receiving cash payments for it.

In November 2022, "Jane Doe" filed a class-action lawsuit in New York on behalf of herself and other women who were also sexually tortured by the famous financier.

In a commentary to the BBC, Edwards Pottinger, one of the law firms representing the plaintiff, said that this was "likely the largest sex-trafficking settlement involving a banking institution in US history."

The settlement is expected to be used to pay compensation to dozens of women.

"The settlement will allow dozens of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to finally attempt to restore their faith in our system knowing that all individuals and entities who facilitated Epstein's sex-trafficking operation will finally be held accountable," the firm added.

Previously, Deutsche Bank sought to have the lawsuit dismissed. Dylan Riddle, a spokesman for the bank, declined to comment on the settlement on Thursday, but said the bank had made considerable progress in remedying a number of past issues. Mr Riddle also added that the bank had invested more than €4bn to improve its controls, training and operational processes, and grown its team dedicated to fighting financial crime.

Famous financier Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York prison on August 10, 2019 as he awaited his trial on sex trafficking charges. He had previously been convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor.