Leon Black agrees to $62.5 million deal on possible Epstein-related claims

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Billionaire financier Leon Black has reached a settlement with the government of the US Virgin Islands to resolve potential legal claims arising from his business relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The settlement calls for the founder of Apollo Global Management to pay $62.5 million for the island territory, said a person familiar with the situation.

Black stepped down as chief executive of Apollo in 2021 after lawyers hired by the private equity firm concluded that he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax advice, help buying artwork and other professional services.

Epstein’s death in 2019 while lodged in a federal prison in Manhattan was ruled a suicide. At the time, he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. He previously served a prison sentence in Florida after pleading guilty to having sex with a minor.

“Black deeply regrets paying Epstein for legitimate financial advisory services,” a spokeswoman for the billionaire said in a statement Friday.

The settlement with the US Virgin Islands became the “Solution”. , , potential claims arising from the unintended consequences of those payments,” the statement said. “There is no suggestion in the USVI settlement that (Black) knew of or participated in any misconduct.”

Black’s deal with US Virgin Islands authorities, first reported by The New York Times on Friday, follows a series of high-profile legal cases, some of which ended with financial firms paying large sums to settle claims related to their ties to Epstein.

In May, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay up to $75 million to settle a lawsuit brought by an unnamed woman who also alleged that the lender profited from human trafficking by retaining Epstein as a client.

The following month, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay up to $290 million to settle another lawsuit that accused the bank of profiting from human trafficking by ignoring several internal warnings about its former client’s sex crimes. The bank did not accept the liability as part of the settlement.

JPMorgan still faces trial in a separate lawsuit brought by the US Virgin Islands, which said it would seek at least $190 million in damages over claims that the bank promoted human trafficking in the territory. JP Morgan has denied those allegations.

The US Virgin Islands said it would allocate funds from enforcement actions “to enhance and expand its counseling and mental health services and to prevent human trafficking”.