New York, New York - A top lawyer for Goldman Sachs will leave the Wall Street bank, its chief executive said Thursday, after her close ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed.

The firm's general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler had courted intense scrutiny after the Department of Justice dumped emails in recent weeks that showed her extensive relationship with the disgraced financier.

Their interactions reportedly included trading advice on her career moves and questioning of his sex crimes, to messages from Ruemmler calling him "sweetie" and "Uncle Jeffrey."

Goldman Sachs' chief executive David Solomon said Thursday that he had accepted Ruemmler's resignation, saying in a statement that she "has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm."

"I accepted her resignation, and I respect her decision."

A bank spokesperson told AFP her resignation would be effective at the end of June.

The emails showed that the pair maintained a personal relationship long after his conviction in 2008 for soliciting a minor.

Epstein's extensive ties to the world's rich and powerful, especially after he was released in 2009, have become politically explosive across the globe.

In one of the exchanges between Ruemmler and Epstein released by the Department of Justice, she emailed him on his birthday in 2015, writing that she hoped he enjoyed the day with his "one true love."

Epstein replied on the same day with a lewd message alluding to masturbation.

Ruemmler was also among the three people Epstein called from prison following his arrest in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Their relationship had been known for several months after an initial publication of documents related to Epstein's case, but Goldman Sachs had until now always shown its support for its general counsel.

Ruemmler held several senior positions at the Department of Justice between 2009 and 2011 under then-president Barack Obama, before joining the White House as legal advisor until June 2014.

She joined Goldman Sachs in 2020 from Latham & Watkins, one of the world's largest law firms.