NEW YORK (Diya TV) — A new Senate report says JPMorgan Chase executives enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking network by failing to report more than $1 billion in suspicious transactions over many years. The findings have ignited fresh calls for a federal investigation into the nation’s largest bank.
Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, released the report on Thursday. He said JPMorgan Chase showed “alarming” compliance failures during its nearly 15-year relationship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender and disgraced financier. Wyden argued that the bank’s actions hindered law enforcement efforts to uncover the “financial infrastructure” that supported Epstein’s cross-border sex-trafficking operation.
Wyden said evidence gathered from recently unsealed court documents makes the case clear. He said the Justice Department and Congress should investigate whether the bank deliberately downplayed Epstein’s financial activity.
The report focuses on suspicious activity reports, known as SARs. These filings alert the Treasury Department to transactions that may involve crimes such as money laundering or sex trafficking. The report found that JPMorgan filed SARs for only $4.3 million in Epstein-linked transactions between 2002 and 2016.
Yet the bank waited until after Epstein’s 2019 arrest and death to flag an additional $1.3 billion in suspicious transactions. Internal emails cited in the report suggest JPMorgan may have delayed filing the reports because it wanted to keep receiving business referrals from Epstein, even after cutting him as a client in 2013.
Wyden said the bank’s decisions risked shielding Epstein’s financial network from scrutiny. He argued that earlier reporting could have helped authorities track Epstein’s movement of funds and uncover more details about his operation.
JPMorgan Chase has acknowledged it should not have kept Epstein as a client. The bank says it regrets its past relationship with him. But it disputes the idea that it knowingly helped him avoid federal detection.
A bank spokeswoman said JPMorgan acted quickly once the government publicly released sex-trafficking allegations against Epstein in 2019. She said the bank provided investigators with a detailed review of Epstein’s past transactions to support the probe. She also argued that federal agencies had information about Epstein for years before making it public.
Still, the bank’s past actions continue to draw scrutiny. Last year, JPMorgan paid $230 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by Epstein’s victims. Plaintiffs claimed the bank enabled his crimes by ignoring warning signs.
The report lands at a moment when Epstein’s connections are under renewed public and political attention. President Donald Trump, once a friend of Epstein, signed a new law this week requiring the Justice Department to release more records tied to Epstein’s activities. Trump has called on the department to investigate JPMorgan and several prominent Democrats who had past ties to Epstein.
Meanwhile, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform issued a subpoena to JPMorgan this week. Lawmakers want documents and records detailing the bank’s financial dealings with Epstein.
The subpoena and Wyden’s report add to a growing list of inquiries targeting institutions that worked with Epstein. Lawmakers argue that the public deserves transparency about the financial networks behind Epstein’s crimes.
Wyden said the latest findings show why stronger oversight of major financial institutions is needed. He said banks play a critical role in identifying criminal activity, especially when it crosses borders. Wyden added that failing to report suspicious transactions undermines the national system designed to track and stop financial crimes.
The senator said federal investigators must determine whether JPMorgan broke the law by delaying its reports. He also emphasized the importance of learning how Epstein moved large sums of money for so long.
The report raises new questions about corporate responsibility and the role of big banks in preventing exploitation. Wyden said the country must understand how a major financial institution allowed Epstein to operate unchecked for years. He added that victims deserve answers, and the public deserves accountability.
