UBS Maintained Banking Ties with Ghislaine Maxwell Post-Epstein Arrest

UBS's Relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell

LONDON/TORONTO/FRANKFURT, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Swiss wealth giant UBS opened accounts for Ghislaine Maxwell in 2014 just months after JPMorgan Chase decided to end its relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and helped her manage as much as $19 million in the years leading to her sex-trafficking conviction, documents show.

Introduction to UBS Accounts

The documents, part of a cache released by the U.S. Justice Department last month, provide fresh insights into the extent of UBS’ banking relationship with Maxwell, who was arrested in 2020 and found guilty in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Transition from JPMorgan to UBS

The documents, which include emails and bank statements, show the Swiss lender opened personal and business accounts for Maxwell holding cash, shares and investments in hedge funds. UBS assigned her two relationship managers, who then helped Maxwell move millions of dollars and accorded her other benefits the bank reserves for its wealthy clients.

Financial Transactions and Requests

In 2014, after JPMorgan closed Epstein's accounts, UBS provided him with a credit card, an email shows. Epstein had been jailed and pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.  

Legal Implications and Investigations

That account was closed in September that year. Epstein's accountant told him UBS had taken the decision because of the "reputational risk," an email shows. But the bank continued its relationship with Maxwell even though her proximity to Epstein had been reported by several media, including in an interview with the financier.

UBS declined to respond to Reuters questions for this article, including why it took on a client deemed high risk by another bank. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of UBS or its advisers, and some documents show the bank conducted due diligence before transferring her accounts from JPMorgan. Reuters could not learn details of the diligence the bank did.

A lawyer for Maxwell did not respond to a request for comment.

MAXWELL IS INTRODUCED TO UBS

Epstein and Maxwell had banked with JPMorgan for years, but the biggest U.S. lender started getting concerned about risks of dealing with them in the years following Epstein’s 2008 conviction. 

In 2011, while conducting know-your-customer checks, JPMorgan advised internally that Maxwell be flagged as a "High Risk Client" over her links to Epstein, separate U.S. court documents show. In 2013, JPMorgan decided to close Epstein’s account.

JPMorgan flagged in Epstein’s history that “[p]er bank policy, felons [like Epstein] are considered high risk and require additional approval,” according to a court submission by the U.S. Virgin Islands against JPMorgan in federal court in New York.  JPMorgan settled the case for $75 million in 2023. 

JPMorgan, which has denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes, declined to comment. The bank declined to say when and why it closed Maxwell's accounts. 

In December 2013, David Wassong, then a partner at Soros Private Equity Partners, introduced Maxwell to UBS, according to an email exchange.

“I have cced one of my best friends named Ghislaine maxwell (sic). She is looking for a new wealth manager, and I told her she had to meet you,” Wassong wrote.  

On February 14, 2014, an email with the names redacted urges UBS to “expedite this transition from JPMorgan.”

“Ghislaine is leaving for over a month next week so she really needs to get this moved over / paperwork signed before her departure. Also, she would like to speak to you to introduce herself, etc,” the email reads.

In response, UBS representatives said they had reviewed documents submitted by her and had some follow-up questions as they processed the move to the bank. 

Wassong did not respond to a request for comment about his dealings with Maxwell.

Soon after, UBS had opened an account and Maxwell used it for her personal expenses and businesses, including her charity TerraMar Project, as well as for entities called Ellmax, Pot & Kettle, Max Foundation and Max Hotel Services, the documents show. As early as February 2014, Maxwell had nearly $2 million in one of her UBS accounts. 

Maxwell instructed the bank on how to move her cash. In one request in 2016, Maxwell asked the bank to make a $2.5 million payment to Scott Borgerson, to whom she was married that year. 

On July 22, 2019, 16 days after Epstein's arrest, UBS moved $130,000 on Maxwell's request from her savings to her checking account to help pay an American Express card bill, the documents show.

Borgerson did not reply to a LinkedIn message requesting comment. 

On August 16, 2019, the month after Epstein’s arrest, UBS received a Grand Jury Subpoena on Maxwell, according to a letter from UBS to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. UBS provided the FBI with information on wire transfers, according to the letter.  

Reuters could not determine when – and if – UBS had closed Maxwell’s accounts.

(Reporting by Elisa Martinuzzi, Nivedita Balu and John O'Donnell. Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer. Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Anna Driver)