US judge approves Deutsche Bank $75 million settlement with Epstein accusers

A US judge approved the $75 million settlement reached by Deutsche Bank with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, who accused the German firm of facilitating alleged sex-trafficking.

US District Judge Jed Rakoff who had given preliminary approval to the deal in June signed off on the settlement at a Manhattan court hearing.

Rakoff told the court that this settlement was a great one.

As part of the settlement, the bank did not admit any wrongdoing.

The settlement includes women who claim they were sexually abused by Epstein and his associates between Aug. 19, 2013 until his death six years later in a Manhattan prison as he awaited his trial on criminal charges he had trafficked teenage girls and young women for sex.

The medical examiner in New York City ruled Epstein’s death as a suicide.

Jane Doe 1 was the plaintiff in this lawsuit. She claimed that Epstein had sexually abused from 2003 until 2018 and that Deutsche Bank failed to notice any red flags. Epstein was a client of Deutsche Bank from 2013 to 2018 after 15 years as a JPMorgan Chase customer.

Deutsche Bank said that it had made a mistake by taking Epstein on as a customer.

Rakoff approved a fee of 30% of settlement for lawyers representing women.

David Boies said that after the hearing, the case was a "wake-up call" for banks to keep track of their clients.

Rakoff gave preliminary approval in June to the $290 million settlement reached by JPMorgan, a New York-based financial service company, over similar claims. The hearing for final approval of that case has been set for November 9.

JPMorgan also faced a lawsuit from the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned private islands. The bank was accused of assisting Epstein. JPMorgan agreed last month to pay $75m to settle these claims.

JPMorgan regrets its association Epstein.