The government of the US Virgin Islands said in a court filing Friday (Saturday AEST) that it is seeking at least $US190 million ($277.8 million) in penalties from JPMorgan for the bank’s failure to detect and report the sex-trafficking operation run by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in the US territory.

Lawyers for the Virgin Islands disclosed the sum in a legal filing in response to a request from the federal judge in New York overseeing the lawsuit it filed against JPMorgan last year, which claimed that the bank turned a blind eye to Epstein’s activities.