Aug 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden called for federal regulators to probe big banks over their handling of Jeffrey Epstein's accounts after surfacing what Wyden said was potential evidence that the banks failed to report suspicious transactions linked to the late convicted sex offender.
In a report released on Tuesday, Wyden alleged that Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase may have violated federal anti-money laundering laws by failing to report Epstein's suspicious
transactions in a timely manner.
Wyden's four-year investigation included a review of so-called suspicious activity reports (SARs) which banks file to the Treasury Department, materials from lawsuits and court filings, and information the senator sought from Wall Street banks and the U.S. Treasury.
Bank of America failed to properly screen and report $170 million in payments to Epstein, Wyden's report said, adding that the bank years later concluded in suspicious activity reports that the transactions had no verifiable business purpose.
"We take our legal and regulatory obligations seriously and, as we have previously said, the bank did not facilitate wrongdoing,” a BofA spokesperson said.
Deutsche Bank failed to report on time more than $250 million in suspicious wire transfers tied to Epstein, including payments to women in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe, the report said. Deutsche Bank said in a statement that it takes its legal obligations seriously and regrets its historical connection with Epstein.
Wyden's report also alleged that JPMorgan delayed reporting over $1 billion in suspicious Epstein-linked transfers to the Treasury, including payments to women in Russia and Belarus.
A spokesperson for the bank said this was false. "We began flagging suspicious transactions for the government as early as 2002 and throughout our relationship...even after we closed his accounts," she said. "We acted appropriately on what we knew, when we knew it, as the law requires."
Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 1998 until the bank cut him off in 2013, years after he pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges. Deutsche took him on as a client in 2013 after JPMorgan closed his accounts.
"We have cooperated with regulatory and law enforcement agencies regarding their investigations and have been transparent in addressing deficiencies and investing in strengthening our control environment in parallel," a Deutsche Bank spokesperson said.
Reuters couldn't verify the details of the report.
An administration official said Treasury does not comment on investigations, including to confirm or deny whether one exists. Treasury has fully cooperated with valid requests for information from Congress, the official said.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by New York City's medical examiner.
Wyden is one of several lawmakers probing Epstein's relationships on Wall Street. Lawmakers on the U.S. Congress House Oversight Committee also last month heard testimony from Goldman Sachs' former top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler and former Barclays CEO Jes Staley over their dealings with Epstein.
Both have said they were unaware of Epstein's crimes.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Tom Sims; Editing by Michelle Price and David Gaffen)
