Lawsuits against banks with Epstein ties may shed new light on financier's crimes [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Mon 27 Oct 2025 09.00 EDT
Last modified on Mon 27 Oct 2025 11.12 EDT
For years, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have demanded justice. For a while, it seemed like they would get it. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, was found guilty of sex trafficking four years ago for her involvement in the late financier’s sexual abuse of teen girls – and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment. Meanwhile, banks who had done business with Epstein, although not admitting wrongdoing, paid hundreds of millions in settlements to victims.
Donald Trump even made releasing the Epstein investigative files part of his campaign platform, and doubled down on his promise to do so early this year. In the end, Trump’s justice department did not release these files, and his administration has become embroiled in reports about social ties between him and Epstein. Congressional promises to release files have lagged, due to political jockeying and justice department foot-dragging. But two new lawsuits could shed light on Epstein’s activities amid the stalemate – regardless of their outcome.
These lawsuits, filed by an anonymous plaintiff against Bank of America and the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), allege that these financial powerhouses illicitly enabled Epstein’s sex trafficking. The suits are helmed by Sigrid S McCawley, of Boies Schiller Flexner, and Brad Edwards of Edwards Henderson, who have long represented Epstein victims.
“Epstein committed these crimes by means of not only his own extraordinary wealth and power, but through access to funding and financial support from both individuals and institutions, including BNY,” one lawsuit claims. “Egregiously, BNY had a plethora of information regarding Epstein’s sex trafficking operation but chose profit over protecting the victims.”
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/27/jeffrey-epstein-lawsuit-us-banks
= new reply since forum marked as read