{"id":49555,"date":"2026-08-05T12:06:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T19:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49555"},"modified":"2026-08-05T12:06:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T19:06:51","slug":"follow-the-money-senate-report-reveals-how-wall-street-banks-protected-epstein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/05\/follow-the-money-senate-report-reveals-how-wall-street-banks-protected-epstein\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Follow the Money\u2019: Senate Report Reveals How Wall Street Banks \u2018Protected Epstein\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Ron<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) speaks at a December 16, 2025 press conference with other Senate Democrats about the release of the Epstein files, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by Nathan Posner\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis report is a ready-made roadmap for prosecutors, investigators, and members of Congress to finally start holding the Epstein class accountable,\u201d said Sen. Ron Wyden.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aug 04, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A yearslong Senate investigation released on Tuesday revealed how some of the world\u2019s largest banks allegedly broke federal money laundering laws by failing to stop or promptly report financial transactions that allegedly helped sustain the sex trafficking of children<\/a> and young women by Jeffrey Epstein, the late billionaire and former friend of President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Released by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden<\/a> (D-Ore.), \u201cLooking the Other Way<\/a><\/a>\u201d examines \u201chow years of complicity by top officials at multiple Wall Street<\/a> Banks enabled Jeffrey Epstein to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars around the world to finance his sex trafficking operation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Daily<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In New Corruption Report, Senate Democrats Shine Light on \u2018Eye-Popping\u2019 Trump Profiteering<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Rep.<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Massie and Khanna Push Second Epstein Files Transparency Act to Fight Trump DOJ Violations<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMajor compliance failures at several Wall Street banks enabled Epstein for years,\u201d the publication states. \u201cBy failing to report\u2014or choosing not to report\u2014his suspicious financial transactions to federal law enforcement, these banks allowed Epstein to send cash payments and wire transfers to his victims, friends, and collaborators around the world. The bankers who needed to be asking questions didn\u2019t ask them. Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s crimes were hiding in plain sight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe investigation found significant evidence that JPMorgan Chase<\/a> (JPMC), Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America<\/a> violated federal anti-money laundering laws by failing to screen and report Epstein\u2019s suspicious financial transactions in a timely manner,\u201d the report continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA review by Sen. Wyden\u2019s staff of records housed at the US Department of the Treasury as well as internal bank records determined that top executives at major Wall Street banks were aware of Epstein\u2019s suspicious financial activity for years but withheld information from the US government and protected Epstein from federal scrutiny,\u201d the publication says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Wall Street banks looked the other way as Epstein withdrew millions of dollars in cash with no clear business purpose and was party to thousands of suspicious wire transfers worth more than $1 billion. These banks failed to conduct appropriate due diligence on more than $170 million in payments to Epstein from billionaire Leon Black. In fact, documents reviewed during this investigation demonstrate that JPMC\u2019s senior leadership repeatedly protected Epstein as a client despite repeated warnings from internal compliance personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The documents also show that even after JPMC formally terminated Epstein as a client due to human trafficking concerns, the bank still waited years to report his activity to regulators, and top bankers eagerly continued to work with him informally and through other channels where he could continue to be a source of referrals for other ultrawealthy clients.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The three banks were among four financial institutions from which House <\/a>Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin<\/a> (D-Md.) last year demanded<\/a> records concerning over $1.5 billion in \u201csuspicious\u201d financial transactions tied to Epstein\u2019s trafficking ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI said from the start that if you want to get to the bottom of the Jeffery Epstein cover-up, you had to follow the money,\u201d Wyden said Tuesday in a statement<\/a> announcing the report\u2019s publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy small team of investigators did what Trump\u2019s attorney general and treasury secretary said was impossible: They connected the dots and found evidence of multiple crimes related to Epstein\u2019s associates,\u201d the senator continued. \u201cBank records they reviewed, along with public court filings, detail a shocking pattern of the biggest Wall Street banks in the country choosing to ignore clear evidence of sex trafficking and money laundering, just to keep a wealthy client on the books.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis report is a ready-made roadmap for prosecutors, investigators, and members of Congress to finally start holding the Epstein class accountable,\u201d Wyden added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s highly unlikely to happen under the current Republican-controlled Congress. Republicans<\/a> spent years insisting the Epstein case exposed elite corruption<\/a>, promising full transparency, and rallying behind Trump\u2019s 2024 reelection bid in part because he vowed to release every file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump, former Attorney General Pam Bondi<\/a>, FBI<\/a> Director Kash Patel, and others promised transparency. Instead, the Trump administration<\/a> has missed legal deadlines<\/a>, released heavily redacted records<\/a><\/a>, and withheld<\/a> millions of pages in what critics say are violations of the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act. Signed<\/a> by <\/a>the president last year, the law compelled the Department of Justice<\/a> (DOJ) to publish all unclassified Epstein-related records within 30 days and explain every omission to Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump\u2019s former personal attorney, angered many Epstein victims and others by announcing that there was no evidence of a secret client list, by falsely claiming that the DOJ was fully complying with the law, and by meeting<\/a> with Epstein\u2019s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in prison shortly before she was suspiciously transferred to a lower-security prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12\u201310<\/a> Tuesday along party lines to advance Blanche\u2019s nomination to become permanent attorney general, sending it to the full upper chamber for a confirmation vote expected later this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Trump administration fails to fully comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, its authors\u2014Reps. Ro Khanna<\/a> (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)\u2014recently proposed<\/a> an updated version<\/a> of the legislation, which strengthens the original by allowing state attorneys general, Epstein victims, members of Congress, and certain prosecutors to sue the DOJ if it fails to release required records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business-focused news site Bloomberg sought comment<\/a> from the three banks. Deutsche Bank declined to respond, JPMC said it began notifying regulators \u201cafter the full scope of [Epstein\u2019s] crimes became public in 2019,\u201d and a spokesperson for Bank of America said that \u201cwe take our legal and regulatory responsibilities seriously and, as we have previously said, the bank did not facilitate wrongdoing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An attorney for Black told Bloomberg that the report\u2019s assertions \u201coutrageous and false.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wyden\u2019s report came on the same day that The New Republic\u2019s Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling revealed<\/a> that CBS\u2019 \u201c60 Minutes\u201d killed its own scoop on Wall Street\u2019s long-standing financial ties to Epstein after the network\u2019s incoming Trump-aligned boss<\/a>, Bari Weiss, fired correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who led the investigative report. Alfonsi had interviewed Wyden for the segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BlueSky: https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/embed\/did:plc:ydtsvzzsl6nlfkmnuooeqcmc\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3msb7co2qm22y?id=14113129670145608&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.commondreams.org%252Fnews%252Fwyden-epstein-banks&colorMode=system<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYep,\u201d Wyden said on Bluesky, confirming his interview with Alfonsi. \u201cThe MAGA buyout of media is aiding the Trump administration\u2019s Epstein cover-up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) speaks at a December 16, 2025 press conference with other Senate Democrats about the release of the Epstein files, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. \u00a0(Photo by Nathan Posner\/Anadolu via Getty Images) \u201cThis report is a ready-made roadmap for prosecutors, investigators, and members of Congress… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2316],"tags":[2317],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49555"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49556,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49555\/revisions\/49556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}