The Sberbank Pipeline: How Epstein Moved Money to Russia After His Conviction
- Patrick Duggan
- Feb 13
- 3 min read
# The Sberbank Pipeline: How Epstein Moved Money to Russia After His Conviction
**Published**: February 13, 2026
**Author**: DugganUSA Research
**Category**: Epstein Files Investigation
The Wire That Should Have Raised Alarms
On October 16, 2017—nearly a decade after Jeffrey Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor—his executive assistant Lesley Groff sent an urgent email to his bookkeeper Bella Klein.
The subject line: **"Please WIRE the MONEY to first thing this morning"**
The destination: **Sberbank, Ekaterinburg, Russia**
The amount: **5,000 euros**
> "Please be sure to wire the 5K to [redacted] first thing this morning...she needs the money asap..."
>
> Bank account: **SBERBANK, EKATERINBURG, RUSSIA**
**Document**: EFTA02225968
What This Means
Sberbank (Сбербанк) is Russia's largest state-owned bank. It has been under U.S. and EU sanctions since 2014. Wire transfers to Sberbank from a convicted sex offender's account should have triggered:
1. **OFAC compliance review** at the originating U.S. bank
2. **SAR (Suspicious Activity Report)** filing
3. **Enhanced due diligence** on the recipient
Yet the email shows this was routine. "She needs the money asap" suggests this wasn't the first such transfer.
The Butterfly Trust Connection
The Epstein files reveal a broader Russian connection through his estate planning.
**Document EFTA01296151** lists the beneficiaries of the **Butterfly Trust**, established December 27, 2006:
- Darren Indyke (Trustee, attorney)
- Richard Kahn (Trustee)
- Karyna Shuliak (girlfriend)
Additional trust documents (EFTA01385591, EFTA01385592, EFTA01388988) show beneficiaries being added over time, with addresses spanning multiple countries—including Russia.
The trust was established just months before Epstein's 2007 arrest. The timing suggests asset protection planning.
Deutsche Bank's Role
The wire transfer went through Deutsche Bank, where Epstein maintained accounts despite his conviction.
**Document EFTA01286466** shows Epstein's Deutsche Bank statement from November 2016:
- **Account holder**: Jeffrey Epstein, 6100 Red Hook Qtr, B3, Saint Thomas, USVI
- **Balance**: $7,777,038.97
- **Relationship manager**: Stewart Oldfield
Deutsche Bank continued servicing Epstein's accounts until 2019, when they finally terminated the relationship—only after renewed media scrutiny.
**Document EFTA01287313** shows the account still active in January 2018:
- **Balance**: $1,806.28 (business checking)
**Document EFTA01288374** shows the account active through April 2019—just months before his arrest:
- **Balance**: $121,758.29
The Questions Banks Should Have Asked
1. Why is a convicted sex offender wiring money to a sanctioned Russian bank?
2. Who is the recipient in Ekaterinburg?
3. Why the urgency ("she needs the money asap")?
4. What was the stated purpose of the transfer?
5. How many similar transfers occurred?
What We Know vs. What Was Hidden
**We know:**
- October 2017 wire to Sberbank Ekaterinburg for 5,000 euros
- Active Deutsche Bank accounts from 2016-2019
- Butterfly Trust with international beneficiaries
- Routine nature of the request ("she needs the money")
**We don't know:**
- Total volume of transfers to Russian banks
- Identity of recipients
- Whether compliance teams flagged these transfers
- Why Deutsche Bank continued the relationship
The Compliance Failure
Deutsche Bank was fined $150 million in 2020 for compliance failures related to Epstein. The New York State Department of Financial Services found that Deutsche Bank:
> "...failed to properly monitor account activity despite ample information that should have prompted additional scrutiny."
This wire transfer is one example of what that failure looked like in practice. A convicted sex offender. A sanctioned Russian bank. An urgent request. No apparent friction.
Document Index
| Document | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| EFTA02225968 | Sberbank wire transfer request, Oct 2017 |
| EFTA01286466 | Deutsche Bank statement, Nov 2016 |
| EFTA01287313 | Deutsche Bank statement, Jan 2018 |
| EFTA01288374 | Deutsche Bank statement, April 2019 |
| EFTA01296151 | Butterfly Trust beneficiary list |
| EFTA01385591 | Butterfly Trust addition of beneficiary |
| EFTA01385592 | Butterfly Trust addition of beneficiary |
| EFTA01388988 | Butterfly Trust addition of beneficiary |
Search the Documents Yourself
All documents cited in this article are indexed and searchable at:
**[epstein.dugganusa.com](https://epstein.dugganusa.com)**
329,442 DOJ documents. Free API. No login required.
*This is the first in a series of investigative reports based on documents from the DOJ's Epstein files release. We indexed 329,442 documents—more than any other public tool. The receipts don't match the press releases.*
*Her name was Renee Nicole Good.*
*His name was Alex Jeffery Pretti.*
Comments