Epstein’s $1 billion money trail: Unsealed JPMorgan files expose Wall Street and Russian links

Newly unsealed Epstein records shed light on years of his financial transactions with Wall St. figures

A month after Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, JPMorgan Chase filed a report to US regulators flagging over $1 billion in potentially suspicious transactions tied to Epstein and several prominent business figures, according to newly unsealed court records.

The Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), filed on September 26, 2019, identified 4,700 transactions between 2003 and 2019 involving Epstein, his companies, and associates. The report cited wire transfers to Russian banks Alfa Bank and Sberbank, and noted “negative media coverage” about Epstein’s sex trafficking allegations, his complex network of accounts, and ties to two U.S. presidents.

Judge Jed Rakoff ordered the release of the documents, part of a lawsuit between the U.S. Virgin Islands and JPMorgan, after requests by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In 2023, JPMorgan paid $290 million to Epstein’s victims and $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle related lawsuits, without admitting wrongdoing.

The records include emails between Epstein and Jes Staley, a former JPMorgan executive who later resigned as Barclays CEO amid scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein. Staley has denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes but admitted in court to having sex with one of Epstein’s assistants. In their exchanges, Epstein offered to help Staley recruit wealthy clients such as Google’s co-founders and heads of state.

Among those mentioned in the SAR were Leon Black, Glenn Dubin, Alan Dershowitz, and Leslie Wexner. None has been charged in connection with Epstein. The New York Times reported that $65 million in transfers involved Wexner’s trusts when Epstein managed his finances. Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, said he paid Epstein only for legitimate tax and estate planning advice.

Despite years of internal warnings, JPMorgan kept Epstein as a client until 2013, five years after his Florida conviction for soliciting minors. The newly unsealed records show the bank filed several SARs before and after cutting ties, but regulators took no apparent action.

JPMorgan spokesperson Patricia Wexler said, “The SARs confirm what’s been inferred all along: the bank filed reports about Epstein early on and repeatedly between 2013 and 2019, as required. It does not appear that anyone in the government or law enforcement acted on those SARs for years.”

The documents also reveal Epstein helped JPMorgan pursue high-profile clients, including Sergey Brin and Larry Page, discussing complex trust structures to reduce taxes.

While there’s no evidence directly implicating CEO Jamie Dimon, questions remain about what he knew. Dimon has said he was unaware of Epstein’s accounts until 2019, though other testimony suggests the issue may have reached him earlier.

On the day Epstein died, a JPMorgan employee circulated a New York Times article about his death, closing a chapter on years of ignored red flags.