JPMorgan's Dimon questioned on whether he lobbied UK government on Epstein's advice, FT reports

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
JPMorgan's Dimon questioned on whether he lobbied UK government on Epstein's advice, FT reports teaser image

July 13 (Reuters) - JPMorgan (JPM.N), CEO Jamie Dimon has received a letter from Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren about whether he lobbied the UK government against a tax on bankers' bonuses on the advice of Jeffrey Epstein, the Financial ​Times reported on Monday.

The report follows the release of a cache of documents earlier this ‌year by the U.S. Department of Justice that has piled pressure on some policymakers and high-profile executives on their links with the late convicted sex offender.

The FT said it had seen a letter sent to Dimon last week in which Warren, the ​top Democrat on the Senate banking committee, told the banking boss: "It is critical that Congress and ​the American public fully understand the extent of any interactions the bank and you had ⁠with Epstein."

Reuters has not seen the letter referenced by the FT report and Warren could not immediately ​be reached for comment.
Earlier this year, the FT revealed, opens new tab, citing emails released by the DoJ, that in 2009 Lord Peter ​Mandelson, then Britain's business secretary, told Epstein that Dimon should "mildly threaten" Alistair Darling, the chancellor at the time, over a proposed tax on banker bonuses.

JPMorgan told Reuters in a statement on Monday that Dimon "never met with him, never emailed him, and was ​not involved in any decisions about his account," reiterating the stance from his 2023 deposition about the bank's ​relationship with Epstein.

"On the matter of "lobbying" in the UK – Jamie regularly speaks his mind on bad, anti-growth policy and has ‌his own ⁠views. At no point did he take counsel from him, directly or indirectly," the bank said, referring to Epstein.

Epstein had been a JPMorgan client from 1998 until the bank terminated him in 2013, years after he pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges. The largest U.S. lender agreed to pay about $290 million to settle a class action lawsuit by ​Epstein's victims in 2023.

"Any association ​with the man was ⁠a mistake and we regret it, but we would not have continued doing business with him had we believed he was engaged in ongoing crimes," JPMorgan said ​in the statement.

"We exited him as a client in 2013 — years before his federal ​sex trafficking ⁠arrest and years after the government had damning information they kept from us."

Warren detailed questions and requested documents from Dimon and other JPMorgan employees detailing communications with Epstein and UK government officials, the FT report said.

"These resurfaced emails and ⁠related ​reporting raise serious questions regarding the extent of the bank's relationship ​with Epstein, and your knowledge of these ties," the letter, cited by the FT, read.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking did not immediately ​respond to a Reuters request for comment on the letter.

Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.