After JPMorgan Chase ended its relationship with Jeffrey Epstein around 2013, Deutsche Bank became his primary private banking institution — continuing to service his accounts until 2018 and processing transactions that regulators later determined showed clear indicators of trafficking proceeds.
Deutsche Bank maintained the relationship despite Epstein’s status as a registered sex offender and his 2008 conviction. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) conducted an investigation and in July 2020 ordered Deutsche Bank to pay $150 million in penalties — the largest portion related to the Epstein relationship, with the remainder addressing other compliance failures.
The NYDFS found that Deutsche Bank employees raised concerns internally about the Epstein account on multiple occasions, but the warnings were overridden by relationship managers focused on maintaining a profitable client. Transaction monitoring systems flagged numerous payments, including cash withdrawals and payments to individuals later identified as victims, that should have triggered mandatory Suspicious Activity Reports.
Total payments processed by Deutsche Bank for Epstein between 2013 and 2018, as identified by regulators, included approximately $1.2 million in payments to individuals who had accused Epstein of misconduct, along with significant cash withdrawals and numerous transfers to settlement fund structures.
The U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general separately sued Deutsche Bank over its financial facilitation of Epstein’s trafficking operation on the island, seeking to establish a direct financial accountability nexus between the bank’s conduct and the victims of the crimes those finances enabled.