Jamie Dimon, the longtime chief government of JPMorgan Chase, will likely be interviewed below oath over his financial institution’s choice to retain the late intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein as a shopper, stated individuals aware of the matter.
The sworn deposition, attributable to happen behind closed doorways in Might, is the newest improvement in two high-profile circumstances introduced towards the most important US financial institution by an alleged Epstein sufferer and the US Virgin Islands, the place the disgraced financier had a house.
The lawsuits declare JPMorgan, which banked Epstein for 15 years from 1998 to 2013, benefited from human trafficking and ignored a number of inside warnings about its shopper’s unlawful behaviour. The lender has described the claims as meritless.
The pre-trial course of unearthed communications between JPMorgan staff that contained a reference to a “Dimon evaluation” into the financial institution’s relationship with Epstein. The financial institution has denied that its CEO had any data of such a evaluation.
An individual aware of the financial institution’s inside probe stated there was no report discovered of Dimon being in direct communication with Epstein or being included in any dialogue over retaining him as a shopper.
JPMorgan declined to remark.
Legal professionals for JPMorgan had beforehand resisted makes an attempt to depose Dimon and had tried to restrict the vary of paperwork handed over in the course of the pre-trial course of.
Final week, Choose Jed Rakoff, who’s presiding over the circumstances, denied partially JPMorgan’s request to dismiss the lawsuits and allowed a number of the claims towards the financial institution — in addition to some towards Deutsche Financial institution, which is being sued individually by an alleged Epstein sufferer — to proceed.
He later ordered JPMorgan at hand over paperwork containing communications involving Dimon and former common counsel Steve Cutler from earlier than 2006, the yr that Epstein was first arrested.
A provisional trial date for each circumstances has been set for October.
Dimon’s looming deposition comes after different senior figures on the financial institution, together with Mary Erdoes, the pinnacle of the financial institution’s $4tn asset and wealth administration enterprise, had been scheduled to be interviewed by plaintiffs’ attorneys as a part of the lawsuits.
Former JPMorgan government Jes Staley can be set to be deposed by his former employer’s attorneys in April, after the US financial institution countersued him for any potential damages. JPMorgan’s criticism claims Staley witnessed and took part in intercourse crimes at Epstein’s residences, and alleges he didn’t disclose this “regardless of having a fiduciary responsibility” to take action.
Staley has repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s unlawful actions.
The financial institution is making an attempt to claw again greater than $80mn of pay from Staley, one of many largest such makes an attempt in US historical past.
Dimon was initially scheduled to be deposed in April as effectively, however JPMorgan’s attorneys argued for his interview to happen after Staley’s, stated an individual aware of the matter.
Staley, who later turned head of London-based Barclays financial institution, has denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes. Earlier this month, Barclays’ board acknowledged in a discover forward of its annual assembly in Might that the latest allegations towards their former chief government had been “severe and new”.
Staley left Barclays in 2021 to “contest” the outcomes of an investigation by UK regulators that concluded he had mischaracterised his relationship with Epstein.
