• Senator Ron Wyden is pressing BNY Mellon over its handling of Epstein linked accounts
• Wyden alleges wire transfers showed money laundering patterns not reported until 2019
• Committee investigators identified $378 million moved through BNY accounts
• Wyden says delayed reporting may have enabled Epstein’s crimes
• BNY denies wrongdoing and says Epstein was never a direct client
• Class action lawsuits against BNY and Bank of America remain ongoing
• Wyden is seeking names of bankers and detailed due diligence records

Federal scrutiny of banks tied to Jeffrey Epstein has sharpened after Senator Ron Wyden sought further explanations from BNY Mellon over its handling of accounts linked to the late financier and convicted sex offender.

In a letter sent Wednesday to BNY chief executive Robin Vince, the Oregon Democrat said a series of Epstein related wire transfers showed patterns consistent with money laundering but were not reported to the US Treasury until 2019, the year Epstein died in federal custody.

Wyden said the delay raised serious questions about whether the bank complied with its legal obligations.

Wyden highlighted 18 wire transfers of $1 million each sent in 2007 from Epstein linked accounts at BNY to his accounts at JPMorgan Chase.

He asked whether bank staff questioned the purpose of the transactions or conducted enhanced due diligence.

“Did BNY Mellon employees inquire about the purpose of these transactions or conduct any enhanced due diligence,” Wyden wrote, requesting detailed responses by February 6. The senator is the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee.

Committee investigators identified a 2019 filing in which BNY disclosed that Epstein had moved $378 million in and out of BNY accounts through 270 wire transfers.

According to Wyden, the bank said at the time that it had failed to determine the purpose of the transactions.

“By waiting years to report Epstein’s suspicious transactions to US regulators, BNY may have broken the law,” Wyden said.

He added that the failure to report suspicious activity earlier may have had grave consequences.

“BNY’s failure to contemporaneously report Epstein’s suspicious activity to federal law enforcement may have enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes and allowed the abuse of women and girls to continue for years,” Wyden said.

“Epstein was moving enormous sums of money around the globe to traffic women and girls, and BNY was well positioned to blow the whistle.”

BNY responded in a statement Wednesday, saying it recognized the importance of accountability for Epstein’s crimes but rejected the senator’s claims.

“As we have made clear, Jeffrey Epstein was never a direct client of BNY, and we will continue to defend ourselves against these meritless allegations,” the bank said.

The $378 million in transactions have become a central focus of class action lawsuits filed in October against BNY and Bank of America by individuals alleging they were victims of Epstein.

Those cases argue that banks enabled Epstein by failing to monitor or report suspicious activity.

Wyden said his investigation into Epstein related financial flows is now in its fourth year. He described what he called a broader pattern of misconduct in the financial sector.

“One of my core takeaways is that there is a pervasive culture of lawlessness on Wall Street as these banks turn a blind eye to the criminal activities of billionaires like Jeffrey Epstein,” Wyden said.

He argued that withholding suspicious activity reports until a suspect is already behind bars undermines law enforcement efforts.

The senator called for criminal investigations into institutions that banked Epstein or may have enabled his activities and urged scrutiny of individual bankers involved.

He asked BNY to provide the names of relationship managers and supervisors who oversaw Epstein linked accounts, along with copies of know your customer and due diligence profiles prepared between 2003 and 2019.

Wyden also requested a list of all cash withdrawals exceeding $10,000 from Epstein linked accounts over nearly two decades, including the stated purpose of each transaction, and asked whether any BNY executives faced internal investigations over the matter.

Earlier this week, Bank of America moved to dismiss claims against it, arguing that the amended complaint by plaintiffs added allegations but failed to meet legal standards.

JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank each reached multimillion dollar settlements in 2023 with individuals alleging harm linked to Epstein.