Senator Elizabeth Warren has pressed JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon over whether he lobbied the UK government on the advice of Jeffrey Epstein in 2009, marking a fresh escalation in scrutiny of the bank’s relationship with the convicted sex offender.
Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to Dimon on July 10 asking him to clarify his role in lobbying against a proposed tax on banker bonuses, according to documents released by the committee on July 13. The letter cited newly released Department of Justice files showing that Epstein was in contact with former UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson to discuss the possibility of Dimon calling then-Chancellor Alistair Darling about the tax.
According to emails released earlier this year, in December 2009, Epstein asked Mandelson if the banker bonus tax proposal could be limited to cash bonuses rather than non-cash compensation like share options. Mandelson replied that he was “trying hard to amend” the policy. In a follow-up exchange, Mandelson told Epstein that Dimon should “mildly threaten” the chancellor, according to reporting by the Financial Times.
Dimon reportedly made the call to Darling on December 29, 2009. In his memoir, Darling recounted that Dimon was “very, very angry” and warned that JPMorgan, a major purchaser of UK government bonds, might reconsider building a new London office if the tax proceeded.
JPMorgan stated that Dimon “never met with him, never emailed him, and was not involved in any decisions about his account,” referring to Epstein. The bank also said that on matters of UK lobbying, “Jamie regularly speaks his mind on bad, anti-growth policy and has his own views. At no point did he take counsel from him, directly or indirectly.”
Warren’s letter raises questions about the extent of Dimon’s knowledge of the bank’s relationship with Epstein. In a 2023 deposition, Dimon stated he had never met Epstein, never heard his name until the financier’s 2019 arrest, and had no prior awareness of him as a bank client. However, newly released emails suggest a proposed meeting between Dimon, Epstein, and Staley at Epstein’s New York mansion in 2009, and a February 2010 email from Epstein’s assistant mentioning “evening appointments” with Dimon.
Epstein banked with JPMorgan from 1998 until the bank terminated him in 2013, years after he pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges in Florida. During his tenure, Epstein opened at least 134 accounts and processed over $1 billion in transactions. In 2003 alone, JPMorgan earned $8 million in fees from Epstein, making him “the biggest revenue generator” among a certain class of investor clients, according to reporting by the New York Times.
JPMorgan agreed to pay $290 million in 2023 to settle a class action lawsuit brought by Epstein’s victims, and an additional $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to resolve claims that the bank failed to prevent Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation. The bank did not admit wrongdoing in either settlement.
Sources
- The Guardian — Detailed account of Warren’s letter and the 2009 Epstein-Mandelson emails regarding UK banker bonus tax lobbying
- Reuters — Confirmation of Warren’s letter, JPMorgan’s denial statement, and Epstein’s client relationship timeline
- Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs — Full text of Warren’s July 10, 2026 letter to Dimon with specific questions and email evidence
- Financial Times — Original reporting on Epstein-Mandelson email exchanges about the “mildly threaten” instruction
