The Bank of America has agreed to pay US$72.5 million (A$105.3 million) to settle a civil lawsuit brought by victims of Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit alleges that the Bank of America provided banking services to Epstein and his sex-trafficking operation.
Presiding judge, United States District Judge Jed Rakoff, will hold a hearing in April to determine whether to approve the settlement.
The deal does not include an admission of liability by the bank.
“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.
According to the court records, the plaintiffs’ lawyers might seek up to 30% of the settlement, or around $21.8 million, for legal fees.
The Bank of America denied claims made by Epstein’s victims, claiming the bank merely provided routine services to people who at the time had no known links to Epstein.
Rakoff ruled in January that Bank of America must face claims that it knowingly benefited from Epstein's sex trafficking and obstructed enforcement of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Among the flagged transactions were payments to Epstein by Apollo Global Management's billionaire co-founder, Leon Black.
Black stood down as Apollo’s chief executive in 2021 after a review by an outside law firm found he paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning.
Black has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct.
The plaintiff’s lawyers have also sued other alleged enablers of Epstein’s sex trafficking and reached settlements of $290 million with JPMorgan Chase and $75 million with Deutsche Bank on behalf of his accusers in 2023.
The lawyers are also appealing Rakoff's dismissal in January of a similar lawsuit they brought against Bank of New York Mellon.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by New York City's medical examiner.
During Friday's U.S. session, Bank of America (BAC: NYSE) stock fell 2.6% to $46.97.
