Bank of America has agreed to pay $72.5 million to survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking operation who allege the bank facilitated and benefited from his criminal activities.
US District Judge Jed Rakoff, overseeing the case, is scheduled to hold a hearing in April to decide whether to approve the settlement, according to NBC News's report on Saturday.
The lawsuit, filed last year, alleges that the nation's second-largest bank provided financial services to Epstein and his trafficking network, including accounts used by victims and his associates, such as Ghislaine Maxwell and Leon Black, the former CEO of Apollo Global Management.
"While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs," a Bank of America spokesperson told NBC News.
The settlement does not require Bank of America to admit liability. It covers all women sexually abused or trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein-or associates of his trafficking network-between June 30, 2008, and July 6, 2019, with at least 60 victims identified, according to their lawyers.
Plaintiffs allege the bank failed to monitor accounts properly and did not file timely suspicious activity reports for questionable transactions, including $170 million from Leon Black's account, labeled as "tax and estate planning advice," which they claim funded Epstein's trafficking operations.
Leon Black, considered a "critical witness" by victims' attorney Sigrid McCawley, was slated for an eight-hour deposition this month but did not appear after the Bank of America settlement was announced. Black is not named as a defendant and has denied any involvement in Epstein's crimes.
Survivors have also settled similar cases with JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, receiving $290 million and $75 million, respectively.
