Deutsche Bank AG agreed Tuesday to pay a $150 million penalty to settle “significant compliance failures” in its dealings with convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The New York State Department of Financial Services said the bank did not properly monitor Epstein’s transactions, despite widespread public knowledge about his sexual misconduct.
It said Deutsche Bank’s failure led to its processing of hundreds of Epstein’s transactions that should have been more closely scrutinized, including payments to victims and law firms representing him and his accomplices.
The state regulator said Deutsche Bank also failed in its relationships with Danske Bank Estonia and FBME Bank by not properly monitoring their correspondent and clearing operations.
The regulator said the penalty is the first regulatory enforcement action against Epstein, who committed suicide in jail last August after being arrested a month earlier on sex trafficking charges.
Epstein, who socialized with President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, previously served more than a year in a Florida jail after pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting sex from a minor.
Epstein’s longtime confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell, was transferred Monday to a New York City jail that is experiencing coronavirus and other problems as she is facing charges she recruited girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.
