Bank of America settles over Epstein claims

Bank of America has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of victims of Jeffrey Epstein, who had accused the bank of facilitating his sex trafficking operation.

Terms of the deal, which now goes to the court for approval, were not immediately disclosed.

It marks the third such settlement by a major bank, after JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank agreed to pay out $290m (£218m) and $75m respectively.

Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for the victims, said in a statement to Reuters that the resolution was "one more step on the road to much deserved justice". Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in October by a Florida woman who says she was abused by Epstein "on at least 100 occasions" between 2011 and 2019 and held two accounts at Bank of America at the direction of his business team.

It alleged that the bank had "a plethora of information regarding Epstein's sex trafficking operation but chose profit over protecting the victims".

It cites a record of "incredibly alarming and erratic banking behavior" in her own Bank of America accounts, which were used by Epstein's team.

It also points to more than $150m paid to Epstein by billionaire Leon Block, co-founder of Apollo Global, to Epstein for "purported 'tax and estate planning advice'", via Black's Bank of America account.

Black, who stepped down from Apollo amid scrutiny of his Epstein ties, has denied wrongdoing. He was due to be questioned as part of the case later this month.

Bank of America had previously urged the court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying it had provided routine services to people who at the time had no known links to Epstein, calling the complaint "threadbare and meritless".

The two sides told a judge on Monday that they had reached a "settlement in principle", according to court filings. They are due to provide more information on 27 March, with a court hearing set for 2 April.