JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to be deposed in Epstein case

Dimon will be interviewed in a case where women are suing the US bank for allegedly enabling Epstein’s sex trafficking.

Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan
JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon will be interviewed under oath in connection with the bank's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein [File: Mario Tama/Getty Images]

JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon will be interviewed under oath in connection with the bank’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender and a former client, a lawyer involved in the litigation has said.

The deposition is expected to occur in early May, Brad Edwards, a lawyer representing women who claim to have been sexually abused by Epstein, said on Tuesday. The women are suing the largest bank in the United States for allegedly enabling the financier’s sex trafficking.

JPMorgan declined to comment.

Epstein had been a JPMorgan client from 2000 to 2013, with the last five years coming after he had pleaded guilty to a Florida prostitution charge.

JPMorgan is defending two lawsuits, in Manhattan federal court, seeking damages over its dealings with Epstein: a proposed class action by Epstein’s accusers and a case brought by the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned a home.

The bank is also suing Jes Staley, a former private banking chief and later Barclays PLC chief executive who had been friendly with Epstein.

JPMorgan wants Staley to reimburse it for eight years of compensation and damages it might incur in the other lawsuits.

The Financial Times earlier reported Dimon’s expected deposition.

Citing a person familiar with an internal JPMorgan probe, the newspaper said there was no record found of Dimon being in direct communication with Epstein or included in any discussion over retaining him as a client.

On March 9, a federal judge ordered JPMorgan to give the US Virgin Islands documents concerning Dimon from 2015 to 2019, after Epstein had been dropped as a client, rejecting the bank’s claim that the territory was on a “fishing expedition”.

Deutsche Bank, where Epstein was a client from 2013 to 2018, is also being sued by the financier’s accusers.

Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell at age 66 in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

Source: Reuters