Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan must face Epstein case

JP MORGAN has lost an attempt to block a legal case that claims the bank “turned a blind eye” to financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking.

In a ruling yesterday, a Manhattan judge said female victims of Epstein and the US Virgin Islands can sue the American lender for allegedly benefiting from the late paedophile’s crimes.

The judge also allowed parts of a similar, parallel lawsuit against Deutsche Bank to go ahead.

Prosecutors for the US Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned an island, have accused the banks of enabling Epstein’s crimes by ignoring red flags and providing banking services.

At the centre of the JP Morgan suit is Jes Staley, a former senior executive at JP Morgan who became a close friend of Epstein and was later chief executive of UK banking giant Barclays.

He is being separately sued by JP Morgan, which is trying to claw back $80m (£65m) in pay from the former executive and make him liable for any damages arising from the Epstein case.

Mr Staley was head of JP Morgan’s private bank while Epstein was a client. Mr Staley once drank white wine in a hot tub at Epstein’s island while he was under house arrest for child sex offences.