A global banking power was caught moving money for Epstein’s closest associate after the pedophile was arrested.
Reuters reported Sunday that newly uncovered documents from the Department of Justice’s tranche of Epstein files revealed that Swiss giant UBS continued to move money for Maxwell following Epstein’s arrest in 2019.
One email chain shows that Maxwell requested UBS transfer $130,000 from her savings to her checking account on July 22, 2019, just over two weeks after Epstein was apprehended. The money was used to pay a “large” American Express credit card bill.
UBS took Maxwell on as a client in 2014, just months after JPMorgan Chase ended its relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell, who was arrested in 2020, was introduced to the bank and financial services firm via email by David Wassong, who previously served as Co-Head of the Strategic Investments Group at Soros Fund Management. Wassong called Maxwell “one of my best friends” and explained she was “looking for a new wealth manager.”
“I told her she had to meet you,” Wassong wrote on Dec. 19, 2013.
The email chain between Maxwell, her assistants, and UBS continued for the next two months, with UBS appearing to finish setting up her accounts on Feb. 14, 2014. Before her arrest, UBS helped Maxwell manage as much as $19 million dollars, Reuters reports. UBS also provided Jeffrey Epstein a credit card in 2014, after his 2008 conviction.
The Daily Beast contacted UBS and Wassong. UBS declined to comment on the documents. Wassong did not immediately respond.
Records show that JPMorgan Chase had been wary of Maxwell. One bank memo for her entity, Max Foundation, found in the document dump, stated in 2011 that she was “high risk” due to her connection with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. He was also asked to leave the bank in August 2013.
“Client is associated with the Epstein relationship and is in the process of being exited,” the memo on Max Foundation said.
UBS was issued a Grand Jury Subpoena on August 16, 2019 regarding Maxwell. The bank shared relevant account information and documents with the FBI.
Epstein died by suicide on August 10, 2019. Maxwell was convicted of five charges related to child sex trafficking in 2021. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison the following year, although she has been trying to appeal. Maxwell was moved to a minimum security prison by Donald Trump’s Justice Department last year.
Several banking institutions have come under fire for managing Epstein’s and Maxwell’s money after the former was convicted of soliciting a child for prostitution.
In 2023, JPMorgan agreed to pay $290 million to Epstein’s victims after settling a class-action lawsuit accusing the bank of enabling his abuse. The same year, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million to victims after settling a similar class-action lawsuit. Neither institution admitted to wrongdoing.
