© Reuters. TOP PHOTOS: Exterior view of JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s corporate headquarters. in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/
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It’s Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is expected to hand over JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: ) documents related to a lawsuit against the bank over its relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a U.S. judge said on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said the privilege and the law that District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office does not apply to the documents sought.
Spokesmen for Bragg and JPMorgan declined to comment.
JPMorgan is being sued by a woman who said she was abused by Epstein, accusing the largest US bank of facilitating prostitution by keeping her as a client from 1998 to 2013, five years after she pleaded guilty to prostitution charges in Florida. .
The New York-based bank has sued former CEO Jes Staley, who was friends with Epstein, alleging that he withheld information about his crimes.
Staley expressed regret for his association with Epstein, but denied any knowledge of his wrongdoing.
On March 7, JPMorgan wrote to the Manhattan DA’s office to report the woman, known as Jane Doe, or people who identified Staley as a witness or sex offender.
Attorneys for Staley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The DA’s office has said it can avoid the warrant because of the privilege, as well as New York law that guarantees grand jury secrecy.
On Friday, Rakoff scheduled a hearing on whether or not to certify Epstein’s victims as a class, which would allow them to sue JPMorgan together.
Epstein died in 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The New York City medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.