By Samantha Delouya, CNN

(CNN) — Larry Summers has been banned for life from the American Economic Association, a professional organization for economists with more than 17,000 members, over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement on Tuesday, the group said it had accepted Summers’ voluntary resignation.

“Effective immediately, the AEA has imposed a lifetime prohibition on Mr. Summers’ attending, speaking at, or otherwise participating in AEA-sponsored events or activities, including serving in any editorial or refereeing capacity for AEA journals,” the organization said.

Summers has long been one of America’s most prominent economists, serving as Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and as president of Harvard University.

He also has a longstanding relationship with AEA. In 1993, Summers received the group’s John Bates Clark Medal, given to outstanding economists under age 40.

But the AEA’s ban follows new details of Summers’ relationship with Epstein, after a House committee published years of email correspondence between the two men last month, including exchanges where Summers made sexist remarks and sought romantic advice from Epstein.

In a statement last month, Summers said he was “deeply ashamed” of his actions and recognized “the pain they have caused,” adding that he would step back from public commitments.

Summers has since taken leave from teaching at Harvard while the university investigates his relationship with Epstein. He also resigned from his position on the board of OpenAI.

“The AEA condemns Mr. Summers’ conduct, as reflected in publicly reported communications, as fundamentally inconsistent with its standards of professional integrity and with the trust placed in mentors within the economics profession,” the AEA said Tuesday.

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