美国国家公共电台 NPR--Deutsche Bank agrees to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit by Epstein accusers

Deutsche Bank agrees to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit¹ by Epstein accusers

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Wall Street Journal reporter Khadeeja Safdar about Deutsche Bank agreeing to settle a lawsuit accusing it of facilitating sex-trafficking by late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit that accuses the German banking³ giant of facilitating sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein. The disgraced financier died by suicide while in federal custody⁴ awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019. Dozens of Epstein accusers are expected to get payouts. For more on this, we're joined by Wall Street Journal enterprise reporter Khadeeja Safdar. Hi.

KHADEEJA SAFDAR: Hi. Thanks for having me.

FADEL: Thank you for being here. So what did this lawsuit - it was filed last year in New York - accuse Deutsche Bank of doing?

SAFDAR: The lawsuit essentially⁵ accused Deutsche Bank of enabling Epstein to recruit and groom⁶ hundreds of underage girls and young women by allowing them to use the bank to pay the victims and essentially turning a blind eye when he was paying victims in cash.

FADEL: What's Deutsche Bank saying about this?

SAFDAR: Our understanding is the bank did not admit to wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The bank declined to comment on the terms of the settlement, but emphasized that they have invested more than 4 billion euros to bolster⁷ their controls and increase their size of their workforce⁸ dedicated⁹ to fighting financial crime. And they made the point that they've made considerable progress in recent years to remedy some of the past issues that they've had.

FADEL: Now, Epstein accusers, a lot of them have said they did never get justice, right? He died before going to trial. How are they reacting to the proposed settlement right now?

SAFDAR: I'm not sure yet. We actually just broke this news last night, so I haven't gotten a chance to see what the reaction is. So I guess we'll just find out more today and in the weeks ahead.

FADEL: And how much money are accusers expected to get?

SAFDAR: So eligible¹⁰ accusers will receive $75,000 as a minimum. And then depending on the circumstances, they can get a payment of upwards¹¹ of 5 million.

FADEL: Now, this isn't the only lawsuit that's targeting banks used by Epstein, right?

SAFDAR: You're right. It isn't. The same lawyers - David Boies and Brad Edwards - have also sued JPMorgan. And then the U.S. Virgin¹² Islands filed a similar suit against the bank for facilitating Epstein's sex trafficking ring.

FADEL: Khadeeja Safdar of The Wall Street Journal, thanks for sharing your reporting with us. And we'll continue to watch this.

SAFDAR: Thank you.

1 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

4 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

7 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

8 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

11 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

12 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。