Banco Sabadell Under Scrutiny: Financial Ties to Jeffrey Epstein's Network Revealed Through Former Miami Subsidiary

Spain - Ekhbary News Agency

Banco Sabadell Under Scrutiny: Financial Ties to Jeffrey Epstein's Network Revealed Through Former Miami Subsidiary

The extensive and sinister financial network of Jeffrey Epstein, the sex offender who died by suicide in prison in 2019, appears to have reached one of Spain's major banking institutions, Banco Sabadell, through its former Miami subsidiary, Sabadell United Bank. Official U.S. government documents, recently declassified and thoroughly analyzed, have uncovered a credit relationship that lasted several years with Epstein and one of his key entities, the MC2 modeling agency, implicated in the exploitation of women, including minors. This discovery reopens the debate on the responsibility of financial institutions in knowingly or unknowingly facilitating the illicit activities of such controversial figures.

Sabadell United Bank, which operated under the Spanish entity's umbrella between 2007 and 2017, allegedly granted a personal loan to Jeffrey Epstein in 2010, which was renewed in 2015. This credit, whose exact amount has not been detailed, was guaranteed by Epstein's accounts and intangible assets. In parallel, the subsidiary maintained a credit line with the MC2 modeling agency, estimated at nearly one million dollars. Initially guaranteed by JPMorgan, this line later became collateralized by HBRK, a company linked to Epstein's collaborators, Harry Beller and Richard Khan, and subsequently by Jean Luc Brunel, another key figure in Epstein's network who also died by suicide in prison in 2022 after being accused of sexual crimes.

In response to these revelations, Banco Sabadell has issued a statement, through group sources, asserting that "we have no record that Sabadell United Bank had at any time knowledge or suspicion of the terrible criminal activities for which Jeffrey Epstein was accused and convicted." The institution also insists that its subsidiary "did not breach its obligations of scrupulous monitoring and execution of risk concession criteria with its clients." They emphasize that Sabadell United Bank was supervised by the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency), which conducted periodic reviews (approximately every 12 to 18 months) of the entity, and that the bank had a compliance program in line with American regulations and best market practices. However, these claims are contrasted by the fact that Epstein had already been convicted in 2006 for child abuse offenses, a public record that should have triggered alerts in any rigorous due diligence process.

Sabadell's presence in Florida began with the acquisition of TransAtlantic Bank of Miami in 2007 and BNY Mellon's subsidiary in 2009, leading to the creation of Sabadell United Bank. The financial relationship with Epstein and MC2 was maintained for most of the decade, until 2017 when Sabadell sold the retail division of this entity to IberiaBank, the very entity that, according to documents, maintained ties to Epstein's network. Today, Banco Sabadell, under the presidency of Josep Oliu, still maintains a presence in Florida, albeit through a corporate and private banking branch, disconnected from the retail operations that managed these credits.

Sabadell's connection adds to a growing list of financial institutions, such as JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, which have already paid millions in compensation to Epstein's victims. BNY Mellon also faced a lawsuit, though dismissed, and Bank of America has been implicated. What distinguishes this case is the evidence of Epstein's direct involvement in the management of MC2's credit line. Emails from 2011 and 2014 between Sabadell and MC2 executives reveal that Epstein was consulted on decisions and that messages were forwarded to him. On one occasion, facing Sabadell's demands for a "first-tier" guarantee, Epstein responded with a concise "I'll take care of it." In another exchange, Jeff Fuller, president of MC2, complained about the Spanish bank's demands, noting that "Sabadell has been making money from this for years." Jean Luc Brunel, for his part, requested in 2014 to personally assume the guarantee for MC2's credit, replacing HBRK.

These revelations not only cast a shadow over Sabadell's due diligence during a critical period but also underscore the complexity and reach of Epstein's network, which managed to infiltrate various spheres of power and finance. The lack of transparency in the financing of entities linked to illicit activities remains a crucial challenge for global banking regulation, and each new declassified document deepens our understanding of how a predator like Epstein could operate with such impunity for so long.

Ekhbary News Agency