Tazia Smith is a former Managing Director at Deutsche Bank who served as a relationship manager for Jeffrey Epstein's accounts from approximately 2013 to 2018. The archive contains over 6,000 emails documenting her role in servicing Epstein's trading, investment banking, and structured products needs through Deutsche Bank's Key Client Partners division. Smith currently serves as CEO of Closed Loop Capital Management, a circular economy-focused investment firm. The correspondence reveals routine institutional banking services including equity trades, IPO allocations, foreign exchange transactions, and structured note products, with no evidence of knowledge of or participation in Epstein's criminal conduct.
Background#
Tazia Smith holds a CFA charter and earned a degree in Environmental Science & Policy from Duke University in 2002. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, she worked at Goldman Sachs for seven years in the Investment Management Division and briefly at Citigroup Private Bank as a sales analyst.
At Deutsche Bank, Smith helped establish the Key Client Partners business, which provided "private market opportunities, structured lending and trading capabilities to qualified private clients." She held the title of Director and later Managing Director in the Key Client Partners division, working from Deutsche Bank's offices at 345 Park Avenue in New York.
Deutsche Bank accepted Epstein as a client in August 2013 after JPMorgan severed ties with him. The relationship continued until December 2018. In July 2020, New York's Department of Financial Services fined Deutsche Bank $150 million for compliance failures related to its Epstein relationship, finding the bank had opened at least 40 accounts for Epstein and "failed to properly monitor millions of dollars in suspicious transactions." In 2023, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle civil claims from Epstein victims related to the banking relationship.
Smith left Deutsche Bank in 2019 to join Closed Loop Partners, where she currently serves as Managing Partner and CEO of Closed Loop Capital Management, overseeing private equity, venture capital, and credit strategies focused on the circular economy.
Correspondence with Epstein#
Smith's correspondence with Epstein spanned from late 2013 through 2018, primarily servicing accounts held in the name of "Southern Financial LLC," Epstein's investment vehicle. The emails document standard wealth management and trading services.
Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff frequently relayed messages between them, requesting Smith call Epstein about various trading opportunities. In November 2013, Groff wrote that Smith wanted to discuss the Twitter IPO (noting "she cannot email you re this"), and later that Smith was "back from her 2 week holiday and would like to speak with you about your positions and catch up". Multiple messages show Groff passing along requests for Smith to call Epstein about Apple options, trading orders, and general account matters.
Smith provided direct investment recommendations and market color on equities. She allocated Epstein 1,500 shares of Twitter at $26 in the November 2013 IPO. She pitched equity positions including a five-stock portfolio targeting $15 million across Gilead, HCA Holdings, Comcast, F5 Networks, and Exxon, with detailed research reports attached. She managed Apple buy-and-write strategies, IPO allocations including Paylocity, and executed trades across technology and biotech names.
Smith handled structured products and foreign exchange trades. She managed Brazilian real-denominated notes that declined significantly, reporting mark-to-market values and settlement scenarios. She coordinated with Deutsche Bank's London desk on currency recommendations, forwarding analysis on USD/CAD positions and USD/JPY options. In December 2017, she pitched Epstein-linked accounts on a "10x levered note on a 5% target vol, multi asset portfolio with 90% put protection" tied to risk premia strategies.
Smith executed block trades in less-liquid European securities. In May-June 2017, she coordinated extensively with colleagues to source 100,000 shares of Rothschild & Co, a thinly-traded French holding company. After Epstein (through Richard Kahn) requested pricing, Smith and trader Delores Rubin worked for over a week attempting to find liquidity, ultimately asking "where you think JE truly cares (or not) so that we can navigate appropriately". The trade was not completed when Epstein insisted on a 100,000-share block at favorable pricing that the market could not provide.
Internal Deutsche Bank account planning meetings identified Smith's role in the Epstein relationship. A January 2018 memo noted "Mr. Epstein has the potential to introduce DB to other potential clients that are KCP adoptable" and assigned action items including bringing in more deposits and increasing trading volume. Smith was copied on wire transfer requests processed through the Southern Financial accounts, including an enhanced wire instruction forwarded by Epstein assistant Bella Klein.
In October 2014, Smith arranged for Epstein and Kahn to meet Daniel Sabba, identified as "the new head of DB Key Client Partners Capital Markets in the US who will be covering you directly for all your active trading going forward," indicating a transition in relationship management structure while Smith remained involved.
Connections#
Smith's primary point of contact was Richard Kahn, with whom she shared 1,497 emails. Kahn served as a liaison between Epstein and Deutsche Bank, making trade requests and asking for market color on behalf of Epstein. Smith worked closely with Vahe Stepanian (2,495 shared emails), a Deutsche Bank colleague who assisted with trade execution and client coverage. She coordinated extensively with Paul Morris (3,783 shared emails), a senior Deutsche Bank executive overseeing the Key Client Partners business. Morris asked Smith to distribute investment ideas, at one point complaining "it is just ridiculous we can't get ideas out to clients" due to compliance restrictions.
Smith collaborated with Stewart Oldfield (743 shared emails), another Key Client Partners banker who worked on the Epstein relationship. She received operational support from Amanda Kirby (862 shared emails) and trading desk personnel including Matt Glassman (618 shared emails) and Joshua Shoshan (279 shared emails). She also worked with Vinit Sahni (837 shared emails) on currency and derivatives strategies, and received research from [Nav Gupta](not in archive as correspondent) on foreign exchange and rates positioning.
Epstein's assistants [Lesley Groff](not in archive as correspondent) and [Bella Klein](not in archive as correspondent) frequently appeared in the correspondence, relaying messages and processing administrative matters. Legal advisor [Darren Indyke](not in archive as correspondent) was copied on certain account authorization and wire transfer matters.
Document References#
The DOJ document releases contain numerous references to Smith's role servicing Epstein's accounts. Groff's messages to Epstein asking him to call Smith about the Twitter IPO, follow up on emails, discuss positions after her vacation, and speak with her about meeting a new colleague appear throughout the November 2013 to October 2014 period. These messages document Smith's active management of the relationship and Epstein's accessibility to his Deutsche Bank team.
A February 2014 authorization letter shows Epstein granting signing and verbal confirmation authority to unnamed individuals on "all accounts associated with the above mentioned relationship" at Deutsche Bank, addressed to Amanda Kirby. While Smith is not named in this specific authorization, it reflects the operational structure through which she worked.
Account planning materials from January 2018 identify Smith as part of the coverage team for Epstein's "Southern Financial" accounts, with notes indicating Deutsche Bank sought to "increase trading with multiple accounts and KCP as a whole" and viewed Epstein as having potential to introduce other high-net-worth clients to the bank.
Visits to Epstein Properties#
No visits to any Epstein properties are documented in the archive. The correspondence consists entirely of financial services communications conducted remotely via email and telephone.
Note: This profile documents Tazia Smith's role as a Deutsche Bank relationship manager servicing Epstein's accounts. The archive contains no evidence suggesting Smith had knowledge of Epstein's criminal activities or participated in conduct beyond standard institutional banking services. Her involvement appears limited to the execution of trades, allocation of investment banking products, and provision of investment recommendations typical of private wealth management relationships.