Deutsche Bank $75 million settlement with Epstein accusers wins preliminary approval

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Friday granted preliminary approval to Deutsche Bank's $75 million settlement with victims of Jeffrey Epstein who accused the bank of facilitating the late financier's sex trafficking.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said the settlement appeared "fair, reasonable, and adequate." He scheduled an Oct. 20 hearing to consider final approval.

The settlement covers women who were sexually abused or trafficked by Epstein or his associates from Aug. 19, 2013 until his apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail six years later.

Epstein died while awaiting trial on criminal charges he trafficked young women and teenage girls for sex.

Lawyers for Epstein's accusers and Deutsche Bank reached the settlement last month. Rakoff delayed preliminary approval for more specifics about who qualified as members of the class.

The lawsuit was led by a victim known as Jane Doe 1, who said Epstein sexually abused her from 2003 to 2018 and accused Deutsche Bank of missing red flags of his abuses.

Epstein had been a Deutsche Bank client from 2013 to 2018, after being a JPMorgan Chase client for 15 years.

JPMorgan on Monday reached a $290 million settlement in principle with Epstein's accusers.

It also faces a lawsuit by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned two neighboring islands, which accused JPMorgan of ignoring Epstein's sexual abuses and letting him set up a sex trafficking operation there.

JPMorgan has blamed top U.S. Virgin Islands officials, saying they looked away from Epstein's crimes in exchange for cash and perks.

The case is Doe 1 v Deutsche Bank AG et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-10018.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis)