JPMorgan accused of deleting millions of emails in the midst of ongoing investigations

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials earlier this week fined JPMorgan Chase $4 million after the company allegedly deleted roughly 47 million emails while in the midst of security investigations.

The settlement order states that the messages were allegedly deleted from about 8,700 mailboxes that belonged to about 7,500 employees who had regular contact with Chase customers.

The SEC alleges that the emails were deleted in 2019 and the messages dated from January to April of 2018.

The deleted emails allegedly included business records that were sought in at least 12 regulatory investigations that JPMorgan was required to retain for three years, according to the commission's rule.

“Because the deleted records are unrecoverable, it is unknown – and unknowable – how the lost records may have affected the regulatory investigations,” the commission said in the order, according to The Daily Wire.

“Indeed, a member of JPMorgan’s compliance department acknowledged in an internal email after the deletion event was discovered that lost documents could relate to potential future investigations, legal matters and regulatory inquiries," the order continued. 

The company claims that the deletions were done "erroneously." “JPMorgan takes its record-keeping obligations seriously,” the bank stated, according to Reuters.

The bank has been ordered by officials to “cease and desist from committing any future violations.”