Some young motorists experience a run-in with police over something as simple as an illegal left turn and it’s enough to inspire more conscientious driving for decades. For the boss of the biggest U.S. bank, memories of law enforcement are fuzzier and less impactful. At least, that’s the impression left by Jamie Dimon’s answers to recent questioning in relation to Jeffrey Epstein, the dead sex-trafficker who was a JPMorgan client for 15 years.
A $230 million fine for anticompetitive behavior in 2011? “I don’t recall that specific one, no,” Dimon responded during a deposition last month. A $200 million fine and an admission of wrongdoing in 2013 to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges of misstating financial results and lacking sufficient internal controls? “I don’t recall the specific thing you’re talking about.
Start with the premise that Dimon is among the country’s best corporate leaders. His self-appointed statesman role stems from successfully overseeing the biggest financial institution in the Western world, serving customers in more than 100 countries with nearly 300,000 employees and a balance sheet approaching $4 trillion, more assets than the five biggest U.S. banks combined held 20 years ago.
Worse still, some of Dimon’s top lieutenants had concerns and were hotly debating the situation, but never escalated the matter to their boss. Stephen Cutler, JPMorgan’s general counsel at the time, emailed colleagues in 2011 to say Epstein was “not an honorable person in any way” and should not be a client, court documents show.
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