Jeffrey Epstein built close ties with powerful figures in Senegal and Ivory Coast, files released by the US government last month show, detailing the late sex offender’s influence network across Africa.
Emails, scheduled meetings, investment projects, and loans reviewed by AFP attest to the disgraced New York financier’s close relationship with Karim Wade, son of former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade.
They also reveal his ties to Nina Keita, niece of Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara.
Wade and Epstein met in 2010 through Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who recently resigned as CEO of port giant DP World after mounting pressure over his close friendship with Epstein.
The pair quickly struck up a rapport.
“Thanks for coming. I think there are many things to consider… I feel confident that we will have fun,” Epstein wrote to Wade on November 15, 2010 after their first meeting in Paris.
“Have a safe trip back to your paradise Island,” Wade replied.
While Wade’s exchanges show no link to Epstein-related sex trafficking crimes, they do reveal conversations on potential business ventures in various sectors, such as finance and energy.
Nicknamed the “Minister of Heaven and Earth” for the multiple portfolios he held including international cooperation, energy, and air transport, Wade was a powerful figure in Senegal until April 2012, when his father’s bid for a third term sparked deadly riots.
Epstein saw him as “one of the most important players in africa” and invited him to meet close contacts such as Ehud Barak, then Israel’s defence minister.
He also put him in touch with Chinese businessman Desmond Shum to discuss “offshore banking.”
The US Department of Justice documents show Shum and Wade met in Beijing on May 9, 2011.
That same month, Wade planned an African tour through Senegal, Mali, and Gabon for Epstein.
– ‘You will not suffer’ –
Epstein and Wade’s relationship became even more apparent after the latter’s fortunes reversed when his father left office in 2012.
That autumn, Epstein proposed that his “friend” — under the Dakar authorities’ scrutiny over his assets — use his house in Florida.
“You and your family are welcome to use my house in palm beach, staff is there, pool etc. you will not suffer,” Epstein wrote.
“Txs a lot Brother for the advise,” Wade replied a few weeks later to another email, in which Epstein urged him to “stay mentally strong”.
Numerous files suggest Epstein became financially involved on Karim Wade’s behalf after his arrest in 2013 and his 2015 sentencing to six years in prison for corruption.
Karim Wade’s lawyer, Mohamed Seydou Diagne, sent two invoices in May 2014 and July 2015 of $500,000 to one of Epstein’s companies.
Contacted by AFP on Monday, Diagne said he “did not consider it useful to comment”.
Other archives suggest that Epstein covered at least $50,000 in fees for the US lobbying firm Nelson Mullins, hired by Wade’s entourage to secure his release.
Epstein regularly exchanged emails with Robert Crowe, a partner at the firm who kept him informed of their efforts in the US and Senegal.
In a June 16, 2016 email thread where Epstein and Crowe discussed whether then Senegalese president Macky Sall would pardon Wade, Crowe writes: “He has told my friends high up at State that he was going to do it. They have been putting pressure on him!”
Karim Wade was released from prison eight days later, on June 24, and went into exile in Qatar, which he credited for efforts toward his release.
Jeffrey Epstein was told by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and Nina Keita.
– ‘A very interesting person!’-
The DOJ documents show Nina Keita was close to both Epstein and Karim Wade and that she acted as a regular intermediary while Wade was in prison.
Keita also helped put Epstein in contact with her uncle, president of Ivory Coast since May 2011, and his team.
“He thought you were a very interesting person! … they were all very happy to have you here,” she wrote on January 20, 2012, after the financier’s visit to Abidjan.
She had booked him the “ministerial suite” of the luxury Hotel Ivoire for that trip.
Ahead of the visit, Epstein had said he hoped to see “very pretty girls there, as well as interesting places”.
“You will!” Keita replied.
Emails show Keita, a former model, at least once sent photos and the phone number of a young woman to Epstein.
He then met this woman at the Ritz hotel in Paris on August 31, 2011.
“ask sadia to send pictures of her sister. i prefer under 25,” Epstein wrote to Keita after the meeting.
Now the deputy general director of Ivorian petroleum stocks company GESTOCI, Keita also appears in a February 2019 will in which Epstein requested that debts owed to him by a number of people be cancelled upon his death.
AFP received no response to its requests for comment from both Keita and the Ivorian presidency, or from Karim Wade, who was contacted through his entourage.
The mere mention of a person’s name in the Epstein files does not in itself imply wrongdoing.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has openly acknowledged having had two extramarital affairs with Russian women and apologised to staff at the Gates Foundation for his past association with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, describing that connection as a “huge mistake.
Gates addressed his foundation’s employees at a town hall meeting on February 24, shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice released a large trove of files linked to investigations into Epstein’s crimes.
In remarks reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, he said he deeply regretted his relationship with Epstein and the impact it had on the foundation’s work.
“I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” Gates said, while insisting that he “did nothing illicit” and had not witnessed any illegal conduct related to Epstein’s criminal activities.
In his comments, Gates confirmed that he had two affairs with women — one described as a Russian bridge player and another as a Russian nuclear physicist — but stressed that these relationships were unrelated to any victims of Epstein and had been separate from his philanthropic work.
Gates also addressed photos and documents included in the recently released files, saying some images showing him with unidentified women were taken at the request of Epstein’s associates after meetings, not during any wrongdoing. He emphasised that he had never spent time with Epstein’s victims.
The billionaire acknowledged he first met Epstein in 2011, years after the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution, and admitted he continued the association into 2014 despite concerns raised by others. Gates said at the time he did not conduct a thorough background check and now views the relationship with regret.
His remarks reflect Gates’s effort to confront renewed scrutiny after the release of millions of pages of Justice Department files related to the Epstein case, which had earlier prompted controversy and raised questions about the links between powerful figures and the disgraced financier.
In discussing his personal conduct, Gates acknowledged that learning more about Epstein’s crimes made his own interactions seem “a hundred times worse” and stressed that the foundation’s reputation is highly sensitive to how its leaders engage with others.
Gates’s comments come as the Gates Foundation continues its global health and philanthropic initiatives, but the disclosed ties have underscored the challenges high-profile organisations face when past associations resurface in public scrutiny.
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Former British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson has been arrested by London police on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson, 72, was fired from the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with Epstein started to become clear.
Police earlier this month began a criminal investigation into Mandelson after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government passed on communications between the former ambassador and Epstein.
“Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement relating to an investigation into a former government minister.
Emails between Mandelson and Epstein, released by the U.S. Department of Justice in late January, showed the two men had a closer relationship than had been publicly known, and Mandelson had shared information with the financier when he was a minister in former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government.
Mandelson, who this month resigned from Starmer’s Labour Party and quit his position in parliament’s upper chamber, has previously said he “very deeply” regretted his past association with Epstein. But he has not commented publicly or responded to messages seeking comment on the latest revelations.
Last week, King Charles’ younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he sent confidential government documents to Epstein. He has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
She ran the United Nations’ ocean conservation programme from a prestigious office inside the fortified UN complex in Gigiri, Nairobi. She held the rank of Director.
She was a Swedish diplomat with a PhD, a LinkedIn profile full of accolades, and a mandate to protect the world’s seas.
She also, according to newly released US government files, maintained a years-long intimate friendship with Jeffrey Epstein — a convicted paedophile — during which he sent her a sex toy, she invited him to move to Kenya with her, and she advised him to flee the United States as a sexual assault case mounted against him.
The woman is Lisa Emelia Svensson. And what the files reveal about her relationship with the world’s most notorious sex offender is now sending shockwaves through the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), whose gleaming Nairobi headquarters was apparently oblivious — or chose to remain oblivious — to what one of its most senior directors was doing on her personal time.
“Come and Visit”
The story begins not in Nairobi, but in Washington DC, where Svensson served as Sweden’s Ambassador for Oceans, Seas and Fresh Water. It was 2012, four years after Epstein had already been convicted and registered as a sex offender for procuring a minor for prostitution in Florida.
Despite knowing this, Svensson wrote to Epstein in August that year asking him to use his connections to get her a prestigious academic fellowship. “Hi Jeff, my dream is to spend some time in the fall/winter at an inspiring university doing a post-doc,” she wrote. “So I need your advice and help! Would you take up the challenge?”
Epstein, ever the predator who wore the costume of a philanthropist, replied that he would send her a plane ticket. She responded by asking for his phone number.
Within months, the correspondence had turned unmistakably personal. By October 2012, Epstein was sending her messages about their availability to meet.
Then, in November of the same year, he sent her what the court documents describe as an adult toy. Her response, preserved now in federal files for the world to read, was not one of shock or disgust. “Thanks for your gift,” she wrote. “Always wanted one. Hilarious, so kind of you.”
The exchange did not read like one between two strangers. It read like one between two people who were entirely comfortable with each other — even as Epstein’s crimes against girls were already a matter of public record.
Nairobi, and a Lie That Unravelled
In August 2016, Svensson arrived in Nairobi to take up her position at UNEP as Chief of the Marine Branch at Director/Coordinator (D1) level, reporting to Executive Director Erik Solheim, a Norwegian diplomat who had taken over just two months earlier.
On paper, it looked like a prestigious appointment. Behind the scenes, however, Svensson had brought her Epstein relationship with her — intact, and in full bloom.
Just one month after arriving in Kenya, she wrote to Epstein: “Gave up on Swedish men, moved to Kenya. Wish me good luck. Come and visit.”
When Epstein’s name surfaced in connection with hers during the 2020 trial of his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, UNEP issued a carefully worded statement to a Norwegian newspaper that had come asking questions.
The organisation insisted that any interaction between Svensson and Epstein “happened when she was with the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs” — that is, before she joined UNEP. It directed the reporters to the Swedish embassy for further comment.
That statement, it now turns out, was flatly wrong.
The newly released tranche of Epstein files, disclosed by the US government in late 2025 and early 2026, shows that Svensson was in active and personal contact with Epstein throughout her entire Nairobi tenure, from 2016 right up until July 2019 — the month he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.
UNEP has not issued any fresh public statement addressing this discrepancy.
“You Need to Evacuate”
In September 2016, as a civil lawsuit accusing Epstein of sexually abusing a minor was filed in New York, Svensson’s response was not to distance herself from the man. It was to protect him.
Writing to Epstein from her UN office in Nairobi, she advised him to prepare to flee the country. “If any presidential candidates win, you need to evacuate,” she told him, using the US election as her reference point for when it might be time for a convicted sex offender, then facing fresh accusations, to run.
The following February, she flew to meet him. According to Epstein’s appointment diary — now part of the publicly released files — she was the last person he saw on Valentine’s Day eve, February 13, 2017. The entry recorded the meeting beginning at 6.30pm.
The Paris Escape, Enabled by the UN
By March 2017, barely seven months into her UN posting, Svensson had already decided that Nairobi was not where she wanted to be. She told Epstein in an email that she had informed her boss, Solheim, that she intended to relocate to Paris.
Solheim approved the arrangement, allowing her to lead the UNEP marine team remotely from France, purportedly on the grounds of “family considerations.”
The arrangement caused an uproar inside UNEP. A furious internal complaint, later published by the media outlet PassBlue and copied to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, named Svensson directly.
“In contrast, you, sir, have approved that your friend, a D1, Lisa Svensson, can work from Europe because, for personal reasons, she does not wish to work in Nairobi,” the complaint read. “She leads the marine team remotely, while the rest of the staff under her responsibility are in Nairobi. Her big office in Nairobi remains vacant with her name and organisational equipment.”
By April 2017, Svensson had updated Epstein on her plans to spend the summer finding an apartment in Paris and refreshing her French. She also asked whether she could stay in his Paris flat.
The UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services later confirmed in an official report that the telecommuting arrangement for two senior managers — widely understood to include Svensson — was not in compliance with UN regulations.
Solheim, whose tenure had been marked by nearly $500,000 in irregular travel and hotel expenses and a pattern of bestowing favours on selected staff, was asked to resign by Guterres in November 2018. His departure was extraordinary: it is exceptionally rare for a UN Under-Secretary-General to be pushed out.
The Final Ask
Even as Solheim was forced out and the internal affairs of UNEP unravelled, Svensson continued her correspondence with Epstein. On March 30, 2019, she wrote him an email with the subject line “pick ur brain.”
In it, she told him she was “still looking for a way out of Nairobi” and that she had secured funding from a philanthropist for 18 months of ocean work. She needed, she told him, an organisation in Paris that could receive private money and employ her. She asked if he had any useful contacts.
Four months later, on July 6, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in New Jersey on federal charges of sex trafficking dozens of minors. He died by apparent suicide in his Manhattan federal jail cell one month later, on August 10, 2019.
Svensson, according to her LinkedIn profile, continued in her UNEP role until September 2021. She then moved to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Deputy Director for Global Cyber and Digital Affairs. She currently serves at the Swedish Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.
What UNEP Must Now Answer
The question of what UNEP knew, and when it knew it, is no longer abstract. The UN’s own ethics framework demands the highest standards of conduct from its staff, and the organisation has in the past year declared that Epstein’s documented pattern of abuse may amount to crimes against humanity.
Yet here, running one of its senior directorates in Nairobi, was a woman who was advising the same Epstein to flee the United States as fresh abuse allegations were filed against him, who was meeting him on Valentine’s eve, and who was asking to stay in his Paris apartment.
All while drawing a UN salary, holding a diplomatic passport, and presiding over a vacant director’s office in Gigiri.
UNEP has not commented publicly on the newly released files. The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Svensson’s current employer through her posting in Geneva, has also remained silent.
Svensson herself has previously denied the substance of Epstein’s claims about their relationship, calling an earlier email from Epstein to Maxwell — in which he mentioned her — “completely incorrect.” She has stated that she distances herself from everything Epstein and Maxwell were proven to be involved in.
Whether those denials are sustainable in the face of documents written in her own hand, from her own Nairobi office, is now a matter for the public record.
The files do not accuse Svensson of any crime. But they raise pointed questions about the moral judgment of someone entrusted with senior UN leadership, the due diligence of an organisation that waved away media queries with a statement now shown to be false, and the culture of impunity that allowed a director to abandon her post in Nairobi, move to Paris on irregular grounds, and continue a relationship with a convicted paedophile — all without consequence.
The Epstein saga has a long history of swallowing reputations whole. Nairobi’s chapter, it appears, is only just beginning to be read.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the powerful chairman and CEO of Dubai’s DP World, has stepped down with immediate effect after the release of over 3.5 million pages of files exposed his close relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and raised uncomfortable questions about how the logistics giant secured lucrative East African port deals.
The resignation on Friday comes weeks after US Department of Justice documents revealed Sulayem boasted to Epstein about his access to African presidents, including Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta, just months before DP World began its aggressive expansion across the continent.
DP World announced that Essa Kazim, previously Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, would take over as chairman while Yuvraj Narayan, the company’s deputy CEO and CFO since 2005, becomes Group Chief Executive Officer.
The company made no mention of the Epstein scandal in its terse statement, saying only that the appointments “support its strategy for sustainable growth and reinforce its role in strengthening global supply chains.”
However, the timing of Sulayem’s departure leaves little doubt about the pressure that mounted after major international partners threatened to freeze billions in investments unless DP World took action.
Canada’s second-largest pension fund, La Caisse, which has invested more than $5 billion alongside DP World over the past decade, announced this week it would pause “additional capital deployment” with the company. British International Investment, which partners with DP World on four African ports, followed suit.
The Epstein files paint a disturbing portrait of Sulayem’s decade-long friendship with the disgraced financier, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Between 2007 and 2018, the two exchanged what investigators describe as hundreds of emails covering business matters, sexual encounters, escort services and pornography. Photographs released by House Democrats show Epstein cooking with Sulayem, suggesting an intimacy that went beyond professional acquaintance.
In one particularly troubling 2017 exchange, Sulayem helped arrange for a Russian “masseuse” from Epstein’s “private spa” to train at a Turkish hotel. During Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2022 trial, multiple witnesses testified that Epstein used massages as a cover to sexually exploit young girls.
The files also reveal Sulayem repeatedly asked to visit Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, where victims testified they were trafficked and abused. In December 2014, years after Epstein’s first conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, Sulayem wrote asking for updates on spending Christmas at the island.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem with Jeffrey Epstein.
But it is the Africa connection that has sent shockwaves through diplomatic and business circles in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
In April 2013, Sulayem emailed Epstein to inform him he was attending President Kenyatta’s inauguration, writing: “I am in Nairobi for the inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya, whom I know very well.”
Just over a year later, in October 2014, Sulayem updated Epstein about a three-hour meeting with Kenyatta in Mombasa to discuss building a massive logistics hub to serve Kenya and its landlocked neighbours.
Within months, DP World began its East African expansion. In March 2022, Kenya’s Finance Ministry entered into a controversial concession giving DP World rights to operate berths at Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu ports.
The deal, which emerged after Kenyatta’s February 2022 visit to the UAE, sparked fierce political backlash. Kenya Kwanza Coalition leaders accused Kenyatta of secretly auctioning national assets. The letter requesting DP World’s proposal was addressed directly to Sulayem.
Although the Kenya deal ultimately collapsed amid election-year politics, DP World’s appetite for East African ports did not wane.
In October 2023, the company signed a 30-year concession to operate four berths at Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam Port, committing an initial $250 million that could grow to $1 billion. The deal, which took effect in April 2024, grants DP World control over one of the continent’s busiest maritime gateways.
There is no evidence that President Kenyatta or other African leaders had any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s crimes. Being mentioned in correspondence does not imply criminal wrongdoing.
Sulayem himself has not been charged with any crime. However, the revelations have permanently damaged his reputation and raised troubling questions about the due diligence conducted by East African governments before handing control of strategic national assets to a company led by a man who maintained such close ties to a convicted sex offender.
The Epstein files also reference Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Senegal in darker contexts. Documents describe coastal towns like Malindi as areas frequented by individuals involved in paedophile activity, with Tanzania identified as a transit point in alleged trafficking operations.
Newly released emails detail planning for 2009 trips to Kenya involving young women, with Epstein pledging $13,000 per girl for “safari and internship.” In May 2011, American publicist Peggy Siegal emailed Epstein that a girl “is finally turning legal.”
Children from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia were reportedly trafficked through Mombasa, the very port where DP World sought control and where Sulayem met Kenyatta to discuss regional logistics infrastructure.
DP World now controls ports and logistics centres across nine African countries, including Algeria, Angola, Djibouti, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, as well as Somaliland.
The company’s expansion has been marked by long-term concessions spanning 20 to 30 years, granting extraordinary control over critical trade infrastructure. In Senegal, DP World is constructing a $1.1 billion deepwater port at Ndayane under a 25-year concession. In Angola, it secured a 20-year concession for Luanda port’s multipurpose terminal.
Critics have long warned that such deals threaten national sovereignty. In Djibouti, the government nationalised the Doraleh Container Terminal in 2018, terminating DP World’s 30-year concession amid accusations of unfair contract terms.
In Tanzania, activist Maria Tsehai told The Africa Report in 2023 that the DP World agreement contained “clauses that were blatantly one-sided in favour of the Dubai government.”
As Kenya contemplates relaunching its port concessions and Tanzania deepens its partnership with DP World, the shadow of Jeffrey Epstein now looms over every contract.
The question facing East African governments is whether they conducted adequate background checks before handing control of strategic assets to a company led by a man so deeply enmeshed with a convicted paedophile.
Sulayem’s departure may close one chapter, but it opens another: will African nations demand better scrutiny of those who seek control over their critical infrastructure, or will the pursuit of foreign investment continue to trump considerations of character and judgment?
Nairobi, Kenya — Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking minors alongside billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was a regular visitor to Kenya, newly unsealed court documents have revealed in a bombshell expose that has sent shockwaves through the country’s elite circles.
The damning files, released following civil litigation against Maxwell, paint a disturbing picture of how Kenya became entangled in one of the world’s most notorious sex trafficking operations, with the East African nation featured prominently in Epstein’s private address book and identified as a key destination in his global network of abuse.
Maxwell, daughter of the late Robert Maxwell who owned a 45 percent stake in the now-defunct Kenya Times newspaper through a joint venture with KANU, leveraged her family’s Kenyan connections to establish a foothold in the country that prosecutors say facilitated her criminal enterprise.
The secret address book recovered from Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion contains multiple Kenyan contacts, including the prestigious Muthaiga Club in Nairobi and Italian-born Kenyan conservationist Kuki Gallmann.
While appearing in the address book does not necessarily implicate individuals in criminal activity, investigators say it demonstrates the sprawling reach of Epstein’s network across continents.
Court documents reveal that Kenya was specifically listed as a leading sex tourism destination alongside Thailand, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Costa Rica in materials found in Epstein’s possession.
The designation raises troubling questions about why the convicted sex offender maintained such keen interest in the country.
In a particularly chilling example, emails presented as evidence show how Epstein in 2009 orchestrated plans to send two teenage girls to Kenya under the guise of an equestrian safari and wildlife conservation internships. The elaborate scheme involved properties at Borana, Ol Malo, Cottars, and Ol Donyo Wuas, with Epstein insisting the girls send him photographs during their stay.
The proposed trip followed Epstein’s established pattern of grooming vulnerable minors by offering career support and exotic travel opportunities.
When one of the intended victims showed reluctance about the Kenya excursion, Epstein sent angry emails berating her, demonstrating the psychological manipulation central to his criminal operation.
“Hey Jeff, I am thrilled beyond belief to be going on this trip to Kenya. Please don’t think I’m not,” the frightened teenager wrote back, desperately trying to appease the billionaire predator who had promised to support her music career. Epstein’s cold response came swiftly: “So, for the future, I don’t care what you do, it’s your life, but don’t lie or bullshit me.”
Ultimately, one girl withdrew from the trip, but Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal and her niece travelled to Kenya in December 2009, landing at a camp in Maasai Mara where they encountered members of the Ralph Lauren family also on holiday.
The coincidence underscores how Kenya’s luxury safari industry became unwittingly intertwined with Epstein’s web of exploitation.
Maxwell’s frequent visits to Kenya take on sinister new meaning in light of her June 2022 conviction for grooming underage victims across multiple locations over a decade-long period.
Prosecutors established that Maxwell and Epstein systematically targeted school students aspiring to careers in modelling or the arts, promising mentorship while delivering abuse.
The Kenya connection runs deeper through Maxwell’s family history. Her father, British media mogul Robert Maxwell, acquired his stake in Kenya Times in 1988, the same year some sources claim he introduced his daughter to Epstein.
Others suggest the pair met through mutual friends, but the timing of the business venture and their relationship remains striking.
Robert Maxwell’s mysterious death in 1991, when his naked body was found in the Atlantic Ocean, triggered the collapse of his publishing empire.
While an inquest ruled heart attack and accidental drowning, Epstein himself claimed in emails that Maxwell was killed after attempting to blackmail Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, adding another layer of intrigue to the family’s murky dealings.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
The newly released documents expose how international power brokers sought to exploit Epstein’s interest in Kenya for business opportunities.
Boris Nikolic, then advisor to Bill Gates, suggested investing in mobile money platforms and offered to introduce Epstein to the inventor of M-Pesa. Ernest Unik, an events organiser who runs the Haiti-based children’s charity Edeyo, shared contacts including a State House official serving as an aide to then President Uhuru Kenyatta.
As proof of his access, he emailed Epstein a photograph with then Foreign Affairs Minister Amina Mohammed, writing: “With Mrs. Amina president cabinate minister of Kenya.”
Perhaps most disturbing is the revelation that a senior United Nations official based in Nairobi cultivated a relationship with Epstein that raised serious ethical questions.
Lisa Svensson, who served as marine chief at the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, exchanged flirtatious messages with the convicted sex offender from 2012 onwards.
In October 2016, as a lawsuit accusing Epstein and Donald Trump of abusing a minor was filed in New York, Svensson invited Epstein to visit her in Kenya. “Gave up on Swedish men, moved to Kenya. Wish me good luck. Come and visit,” she wrote.
Days later, with the US presidential election approaching, she advised the registered sex offender: “If any president candidates win, you need to evacuate.”
Internal UN correspondence shows Svensson disappeared from her Nairobi workstation under unclear circumstances around this time, working remotely from Europe instead.
A 2018 complaint to UNEP Executive Director Erik Solheim read: “You, Sir, have approved that your friend, Lisa Svensson can work from Europe, because for personal reasons she does not wish to work in Nairobi. Her big office in Nairobi remains vacant.”
Solheim himself was forced to resign later that year for breaking internal rules.
When Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for sex trafficking of minors, Svensson quietly left her UNEP position, raising questions about whether her departure was connected to her association with the disgraced financier. Epstein died by suicide in his prison cell one month after his arrest.
The revelations confirm Kenya’s troubling status as what investigators describe as a playground for international wheeler-dealers, a secluded hideout for billionaires and celebrities, and crucially, a transit or destination country for sex trafficking operations.
Separate documents link Kenya and Tanzania to an alleged trafficking network, with children from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and other parts of Eastern Africa reportedly trafficked through Mombasa port.
The convergence of luxury tourism infrastructure, weak regulatory oversight, and powerful international connections created conditions that predators like Epstein and Maxwell exploited.
Kenyan authorities have yet to issue an official statement addressing the damning revelations or indicating whether local investigations will be launched into the activities described in the court documents.
Legal experts say the statute of limitations and jurisdictional complexities may complicate any potential prosecutions, but victims’ advocates are demanding accountability.
“These files expose Kenya as more than just a picturesque safari destination in Epstein’s world. It was a deliberate choice, a place where powerful people believed they could operate with impunity,” said one international trafficking expert who requested anonymity.
“The question now is whether Kenyan authorities will take seriously their obligation to investigate and prevent such exploitation on their soil.”
The Maxwell family’s business interests in Kenya, combined with Ghislaine’s regular visits and Epstein’s cultivation of high-level contacts, paint a picture of systematic relationship-building that went far beyond casual tourism.
These were calculated moves by sophisticated criminals who understood how to leverage social capital and geographic distance to further their predatory aims.
As more documents continue to emerge from ongoing litigation, the full extent of Kenya’s entanglement in the Epstein-Maxwell trafficking network remains to be seen.
What is already clear is that the country’s reputation as a premier destination has been irrevocably tainted by its association with two of the world’s most reviled sex offenders.
For the young women and girls who were targeted, groomed, and in many cases abused, Kenya represents not adventure and wildlife, but rather another location where their trauma unfolded.
The luxury lodges and exclusive clubs that dot the landscape now carry the shadow of having potentially facilitated one of history’s most extensive child exploitation operations.
The international community watches as Kenya grapples with its unwitting role in this global scandal, wondering whether the revelations will spur meaningful reform in how the country monitors and regulates the movements of high-risk individuals, or whether the powerful connections exposed in these files will ensure that uncomfortable questions remain unanswered.
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said he regrets “every minute” he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, after newly released court documents included claims about their past interactions.
The latest batch of files released last week by the U.S. Department of Justice contains emails and draft correspondence linked to Epstein and a number of prominent figures.
Epstein said in a draft email that was never sent that Gates had affairs, helped Bill get drugs to deal with the consequences of having sex with Russian girls, and allowed him to have illegal trysts with married women.
“From helping Bill to get drugs in order to deal with consequences of s** with russian girls, to facilictating his illicit trysts with married women, to being asked to provide adderall fro bridge toumamnts. as I am a medical doctor, but have no presriptions writing abiltiy,” Epstein wrote in an email to himself (with lots of typos), as per several reports.
Gates, however, has denied the claims during his interview with 9News Australia on Wednesday.
“Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologise,” Gates said, noting that “That email was never sent. The email is false.”
The billionaire added that he did not know what Epstein was thinking, adding, “Was he trying to attack me in some way?”
A spokesperson for Gates had issued a similar statement following the document release, saying the material reflects Epstein’s frustration at not maintaining a relationship with Gates.
The spokesperson accused the now-deceased Epstein of attempting to defame the Microsoft co-founder.
“The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame,” the spokesperson wrote.
Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates. Credit: NY Times.
Gates claimed that although he had multiple dinners with Epstein over the years after meeting him in 2011, their relationship did not extend further.
He also said he never visited Epstein’s private island and denied any inappropriate conduct.
“The focus was always, he knew a lot of very rich people, and he was saying he could get them to give money to global health,” he stated, adding that “in retrospect, that was a dead end.”
Gates’ former wife, Melinda French Gates, told National Public Radio (NPR) that the document release revived painful memories from their marriage.
The philanthropist, who divorced Gates in 2021, opened up about her reaction to the controversy, saying she was “happy to be away from all the muck.”
“Whatever questions remain there of what – I can’t even begin to know all of it – those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me,” Melinda said.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The release of over 3.5 million pages of documents related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has exposed a troubling pattern linking Dubai’s logistics titan DP World to the disgraced financier through its chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, raising uncomfortable questions about how the company secured lucrative port deals across East Africa just months after Sulayem boasted to Epstein about his access to African presidents.
The documents reveal that in April 2013, Sulayem emailed Epstein to inform him he was attending the inauguration of then President Uhuru Kenyatta, writing, “I am in Nairobi for the inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya, whom I know very well.” Epstein replied three hours later asking, “Any plans for NY?” The casual exchange suggests a relationship where access to heads of state was currency worth trading.
Just over a year later, in October 2014, Sulayem updated Epstein about a three-hour meeting he had with President Kenyatta in Mombasa.
The discussion centred on plans to build what Sulayem described as a massive logistics hub to serve Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, the Central African Republic and Rwanda.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Within months of these communications, DP World began aggressive expansion across East Africa, securing deals that critics say lacked transparency and proper public participation.
The timing raises troubling questions.
In March 2022, Kenya’s Finance Ministry entered into a controversial concession with DP World, giving the Dubai-based firm rights to operate berths at Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu ports.
The deal, which emerged after President Kenyatta’s February 2022 visit to the UAE, sparked fierce political backlash.
Kenya Kwanza Coalition leaders accused Kenyatta of secretly auctioning national assets, with claims the agreement was sealed during what was publicly billed as opposition leader Raila Odinga’s birthday party in Mombasa.
The letter requesting DP World’s proposal was addressed directly to Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the same man who had spent years cultivating a relationship with one of history’s most notorious paedophiles.
Although the Kenya deal ultimately collapsed amid election-year politics, DP World’s appetite for East African ports did not wane.
In October 2023, DP World signed a 30-year concession to operate four berths at Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam Port, committing an initial $250 million that could grow to $1 billion.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem himself described the agreement as “a milestone in enhancing the supply chain infrastructure in East Africa.”
The deal, which took effect in April 2024, grants DP World control over one of the continent’s busiest maritime gateways, handling cargo for Tanzania and landlocked neighbours including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, DRC and Zambia.
The Epstein files paint a disturbing portrait of Sulayem’s character and his relationship with the convicted sex offender.
Between 2007 and 2018, the two exchanged what investigators describe as “dozens, if not hundreds” of emails covering everything from business matters to deeply personal exchanges.
Photos released by House Democrats show Epstein cooking with Sulayem, suggesting an intimacy that went far beyond professional acquaintance.
In one particularly chilling exchange from 2017, Sulayem helped arrange for a Russian “masseuse” from Epstein’s “private spa” to train at the Rixos hotel in Antalya, Turkey, so she could “gain better experiences.”
Epstein wrote that he wanted her to “learn as much as she can, all treatments etc.” During Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2022 trial, multiple witnesses testified that Epstein used the guise of “massages” to sexually exploit young girls at his properties.
The masseuse’s passport details were redacted in the DoJ files, her age unknown.
Other emails reveal Sulayem repeatedly asking Epstein if he could visit his private island, Little St. James, where victims testified they were trafficked and abused.
“Dear Jeffery, Any update on the Christmas at your island I need to plan my travel,” Sulayem wrote in December 2014. This was years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
In August 2015, Sulayem sent Epstein a link to a pornography website during a series of text messages.
In another 2016 exchange, Epstein wrote to Sulayem: “no girl in dubai is safe tonite.” The context remains unclear, but the casual depravity is unmistakable.
The relationship extended to political access. In January 2017, days before Donald Trump’s first inauguration, Sulayem asked Epstein whether he should attend and “Do you think it will be possible to shake hand with trump?” Epstein advised him on the matter.
In 2015, Sulayem asked Epstein to introduce him to Elon Musk to discuss using Tesla batteries for a Dubai hotel project. Two years later, Musk and Sulayem led a discussion in Dubai.
Epstein also facilitated Sulayem’s attempts to recruit British politician Lord Peter Mandelson to DP World’s board in 2014.
Mandelson, who served in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s cabinets and later became Donald Trump’s ambassador to Washington before being sacked over his Epstein ties, initially agreed before raising concerns about DP World’s parent company, Dubai World, being “overleveraged.” Epstein reassured him it was “awash in cash flow.”
Investigative reporting also reveals that Epstein used Sulayem’s name as a front to purchase Great St. James, an island near Little St. James in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Documents made it appear that Sulayem was the buyer paying roughly $22.5 million, when in reality the beneficial owner was Epstein himself.
This arrangement allowed Epstein to mask his expanding island empire behind the credibility of a wealthy Gulf businessman.
The Africa connection runs deeper than Kenya and Tanzania.
DP World now operates ports and logistics centres across at least nine African countries, including Algeria, Angola, Djibouti, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, as well as the breakaway region of Somaliland.
The company’s expansion has been marked by long-term concessions, often spanning 20 to 30 years, granting DP World extraordinary control over critical trade infrastructure.
In Senegal, DP World is constructing a $1.1 billion deepwater port at Ndayane, 50 kilometres south of Dakar, which it will control for 25 years.
In Angola, the company secured a 20-year concession for the multipurpose terminal at Luanda port.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, DP World is developing a $1.2 billion deep-sea port at Banana, expected to be completed by 2025. In Mozambique, DP World operates the Maputo container terminal and launched the first dedicated container train service to Zimbabwe.
The pattern is consistent: DP World arrives in African nations promising modernisation and investment, secures decades-long concessions over strategic assets, and tightens Dubai’s grip on continental trade routes.
The company’s expansion aligns with broader UAE geopolitical strategy, with sister firm AD Ports Group similarly expanding across Tanzania, Congo and Egypt.
Yet DP World’s Africa ventures have been plagued by controversy.
In Djibouti, the government nationalised the Doraleh Container Terminal in 2018, terminating DP World’s 30-year concession amid accusations of unfair contract terms.
The move escalated into a bitter legal battle, with a Hong Kong appeals court ordering Djibouti to pay DP World over $600 million in damages. The crisis deepened after the UAE signed a deal to upgrade Somaliland’s Berbera port, positioning a rival facility on Djibouti’s doorstep.
In Tanzania, the DP World concession sparked fierce opposition from activists, religious leaders and opposition politicians who warned it threatened national sovereignty.
“The agreement was shocking as it entailed clauses that were blatantly one-sided in favour of the Dubai government and its state-owned enterprise Dubai Port World,” activist Maria Tsehai told The Africa Report in 2023. President Samia Suluhu Hassan pushed the deal through despite the backlash.
The Epstein files also reveal discussions between Sulayem and the sex offender about exploiting Somaliland’s economic potential.
In April 2018, Sulayem sent Epstein a document titled “The recognition of Somaliland – a brief history.” Earlier emails from associates explored water exports from Berbera and financial services opportunities, with one sender noting the potential to profit from remittance services if Barclays halted money transfers to the region.
Other African locations appear in the Epstein files in more sinister contexts.
The documents reference Kenya and Somalia as locations flagged for paedophile activity, with Tanzania and Senegal identified as transit points in alleged trafficking operations.
Coastal towns like Malindi in Kenya are described as areas frequented by individuals involved in such activity.
Luxury destinations such as Mnemba Island in Tanzania were reportedly visited by members of Epstein’s circle.
Newly released emails detail planning for 2009 trips to Kenya involving young women.
In one exchange, American publicist Peggy Siegal joked to Epstein about travelling from Amsterdam: “If the Maasai warriors don’t eat us, the pirates from Somalia will.”
Between April and June 2009, correspondence shows Epstein and Siegal discussed transporting two girls to Kenya, with Epstein pledging $13,000 per girl for “safari and internship.” He referenced his knowledge of accommodation flexibility at venues Siegal had chosen.
In May 2011, Siegal emailed that a girl, whose name was redacted, “is finally turning legal.” Earlier that month she told Epstein the girls were “kissing the ground you walk on and the African plains the girls are about to ride on.”
In one excerpt presented as a “joke,” a sender wrote to Epstein about “bringing a little baby back… or two… boys or girls” from Kenya.
The documents allege that Epstein’s estate was in the process of opening a film studio in Somaliland, possibly to lure young actors into his network.
He reportedly wanted to establish a commercial bank in Somalia.
Files suggest some non-governmental organisations and modelling agencies in Africa facilitated or participated in activities consistent with human trafficking.
Children from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and other parts of Eastern Africa were reportedly trafficked through Mombasa, the very port where DP World sought control and where Sulayem met with President Kenyatta to discuss regional logistics infrastructure.
Experts caution that mention of countries in the Epstein documents does not constitute proof of wrongdoing by government officials. No evidence directly links President Kenyatta or other African leaders to Epstein’s crimes. Being photographed with Epstein at public events or appearing in correspondence does not imply criminal involvement.
President Kenyatta’s connection to the files stems entirely from Sulayem’s emails about attending his inauguration and discussing port development.
Similarly, there is no public record that Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem has been charged with or formally investigated for Epstein’s crimes.
DP World declined to comment on the revelations.
Yet the company’s chairman maintained a close personal friendship with a convicted paedophile for over a decade, exchanged hundreds of emails with him, facilitated his masseuse’s training, sought invitations to his private island where abuse occurred, and shared pornographic content with him, all while leveraging Epstein’s network to access political power and business opportunities.
The question now facing East African governments is whether they conducted adequate due diligence before handing control of strategic national assets to a company led by a man so deeply enmeshed with Jeffrey Epstein.
Did Kenyan and Tanzanian officials know about Sulayem’s relationship with the convicted sex offender when they negotiated port concessions? Were background checks conducted? What safeguards exist to prevent individuals with such associations from gaining control over critical infrastructure?
In Kenya, the DP World deal collapsed amid political opposition, though speculation persists that the company may re-emerge as a contender as the government quietly relaunches port concessions.
In Tanzania, DP World is already operational, with the government touting reduced ship turnaround times and increased revenue while critics warn of sovereignty erosion.
DP World now controls a vast network of African ports stretching from the Red Sea to the Atlantic, from Djibouti and Somaliland down through Mozambique and across to Senegal and Angola.
The company, ultimately owned by Dubai’s ruling family through Dubai World and chaired by the emirate’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, wields enormous influence over continental trade flows.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, born into one of Dubai’s most prominent political families and positioned since birth with access to the UAE’s ruling elite, has built an empire by securing long-term concessions over strategic infrastructure in developing nations.
His relationship with Jeffrey Epstein suggests he was willing to maintain close personal ties with a known sex offender, facilitate the training of women from Epstein’s “private spa,” and seek invitations to an island where children were abused, all while presenting himself as a legitimate businessman worthy of trust from African governments.
The Epstein files have exposed more than a paedophile’s network.
They have revealed the casual intermingling of wealth, political access and depravity at the highest levels of global commerce.
They have shown how men like Sulayem leveraged relationships with criminals to enhance their own power and reach.
And they have raised urgent questions about how such individuals were granted control over East Africa’s maritime gateways while their character remained unexamined.
As Kenya contemplates relaunching its port concessions and Tanzania deepens its partnership with DP World, the shadow of Jeffrey Epstein looms over every contract, every promise of investment, every assurance of modernisation.
The documents released by the US Department of Justice force a reckoning: are African nations so desperate for foreign investment that they will hand strategic assets to companies led by men who counted paedophiles among their closest friends?
The ports of Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Lamu and others are more than economic infrastructure.
They are gateways to the continent, arteries through which trade flows, symbols of sovereignty and development.
The decision of whom to entrust with their operation cannot be made lightly, cannot ignore character, cannot overlook associations that speak to judgment and values.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem may never be charged with a crime. DP World may deliver on its promises of efficiency and investment.
But the Epstein files have permanently stained both, raising questions that demand answers before any government hands this company control over another inch of African soil.
Newly released Epstein files include an email exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and banker Ariane de Rothschild in which they discuss claims that Adolf Hitler lived in a shelter reportedly funded by the Epsteins and the Rothschilds.
A post on the US social media platform X by the user @AdameMedia shared a screenshot of a Dec. 31, 2018, email exchange between Epstein and de Rothschild. The messages centered on assertions that Hitler lived in a shelter for the homeless and destitute during his early years, financed by three wealthy Jewish families.
De Rothschild dismissed the story as a conspiracy theory, while Epstein appeared to argue that it was accurate.
“I thought you’d find amusing that in a Harvard class on Hitler they told the story of when he was so poor he lived in a shelter for the homeless and destitute..that had been financed by the three wealthy families…the Gutmanns the Epsteins and the Rothschilds. It turns out to be accurate,” Epstein wrote.
“Whether it’s a way to say that generosity is not rewarded or that the conspiracy theory still exists is quite pathetic…” de Rothschild replied, signing her name at the bottom of the message.
Epstein responded by doubling down on the claim.
“First it turns out to be 100 per cent true, Hitler was selling his clothes and artwork and living in a shelter funded by Jews. Epstein, Rothschild, and Gutman. No conspiracy, the Epsteins were the Vienna bankers, bought their bank on the ring hence still Palais Epstein,” he wrote.
The documents also point to business dealings between Epstein and the Rothschild family.
A document dated Oct. 5, 2015, shows Epstein, through his Southern Trust Company Inc., entered into an agreement with the Rothschild Group valued at $25 million. The contract covered risk analysis and algorithm-related services, with Epstein listed as president of Southern Trust, which was based in the US Virgin Islands.
Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty in a Florida court and was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, though critics have questioned the handling of the case.
The newly released Epstein Files have allegations of underage girls being auctioned at Mar-a-Lago, brought in by Jeffrey Epstein, in “Calendar girl parties”.
The report stems from 2020 complaints received through the National Threat Operations Centre, related to the Epstein investigation.
The complaint alleges that Trump used to test girls on their “genital tightness” by inserting a finger into their private parts, in the presence of many other guests, like Elon Musk, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Allan Dershowitz, and Bob Shapiro.
“We were taken in rooms, forced to give oral sex to Donald J Trump, forced to allow them to penetrate us. I was 13 years old when Donald J Trump raped me,” the report further alleges. The FBI has categorised the report as “false”.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Friday that thousands of new documents related to the case of convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein were being released.
Screenshot of EFTA01660679 Photograph: (DOJ)
Allegations of murder against Trump
An FBI agent reported that he spoke to a woman code-named “caller”.
The woman and her friend, “victim-1′ went out one night and ended up at Trump Plaza.
Apparently, “Victim-1” really wanted to meet the infamous Donald Trump.
The “caller” then says that an unknown man approached her friend and offered to introduce her to Trump. He then offered her a drink, and later she woke up naked and sore with $300 in a bed.
“Victim 1 didn’t remember how she got to the room. She remembered seeing ‘a flash’ of Trump’s face. Victim 1 called the Caller and told her she thought she had been raped”.
The darker part is that Victim 1 was never seen again. Years later, her remains were found, and the Victim is identified as deceased in the agent report. These reports get darker and darker. A girl says that she witnessed a sex trafficking ring at the Trump Golf Course in Los Angeles, “Complainant reported Ghislaine Maxwell as the madam and broker for sex parties, clients of whom included Epstein. Robin Leach and Donald Trump.
Complainant reported participating in orgies and that some girls went missing, rumoured to have been murdered and buried at the facility.” She also claimed that she was later warned by Trump’s Head of Security that if she ever mentioned to anyone about this, she would “end up as fertiliser for the back nine holes like the other cunts”.
The FBI received an anonymous tip involving Trump, Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and another man. The anonymous tipster alleged that she overheard a private conversation between Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump during a trip shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
A sheikh in a country whose name is redacted offered his virgin daughter to him.
The claim was entirely based on the caller’s recollection of a conversation and would require corroboration and investigation.
The caller claimed that Trump allegedly spoke about visiting a country, but indicates uncertainty, “possibly Israel”. According to the tipster, Epstein allegedly responded positively, making sexually explicit remarks about young women.
“There was an incident after 09/11/2001, Epstein, Trump, Ghislaine, Joe and Palm Beach, FL, for the weekend. was waiting on the plane for others reading magazines, overhearing Epstein and Trump’s conversation, overheard Trump talking about how he just came from visiting a country (possibly Israel), where they have sheikhs, claiming the sheikh gave his virgin daughter to him.” read the complaint.
The woman said that she was introduced to Epstein in 2004 by Caroly Dougherty and described the recruiter as being associated with Epstein. Epstein allegedly made unwanted remarks at her and attempted to unzip her pants. After which she withdrew from the interaction.
The witness became friends with Ghislaine Maxwell and observed that Maxwell was actively involved in recruiting young women for Epstein.
The witness made multiple visits to Epstein’s private island with her then-boyfriend, who was friends with Epstein. During these visits, she observed various high-profile individuals and overheard Epstein discussing plans for massage rooms and a “harem.”
“Epstein had two types of women he would keep around, including young women he would pay and the high-end girlfriends,” said Epstein.
The latest tranche of Epstein Files released on Friday shows an email exchange where Former US President Bill Clinton and George Bush have been accused of raping a boy. The boy, in an interview with an FBI agent on August 27, 2019, made some horrifying claims. He said that he was in an yacht where he was raped (sodomized) by Epstein in 2000. US President Donald Trump was also present on the trip.
“(Redacted) reports that while being raped by EPSTEIN and CLINTON, he was in a heavy drug-induced state”. He further added some disturbing details. While being on the yacht, he noticed African American males having sexual intercourse with blonde females, all of whom were bleeding. He was allegedly a victim of a type of ritualistic sacrifice in which his feet were cut with a scimitar, but left no scarring. He further added that babies were dismembered, intestines removed and individual consuming faeces from these intestines.
Screenshot EFTA00147661 Photograph: (DOJ)
“(Redacted) stated he has ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms as well as other illicit substances in the past and currently smokes marijuana. (Redacted) reported being raped (sodomized) by his great uncle since the age of 5 Y/O until age 22. (Redacted) described meeting EPSTEIN at a yacht club in M, of his relatives were members, first at age 5 and later at age 8,” read the transcript of the interview.
The victim reportedly did not provide any supporting or corroborating evidence. He claimed that he was reportedly raped in a heavily drug-induced state. He was reportedly taken to the FBI by Michael Moore, who is accused by many of being a far-right conspiracy theorist. He was describing these incidents from “recovered repressed memories” until he started taking therapy in 2016. The FBI did not expand on the investigation, as they claimed he was “emotionally unbalanced”, though he was “not intoxicated” at that moment.
Photographs appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling on all fours over a female lying on the ground have been included in the latest batch of Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.
In two of the images, he is seen touching the person, who is unidentified and fully clothed, on her stomach. Another image shows him staring directly at the camera.
Separate emails released on Friday also suggest the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein invited Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman. The messages were exchanged in August 2010, two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor.
The messages and images are likely to put further pressure on Mountbatten-Windsor, who has faced years of scrutiny over his past friendship with Epstein. BBC News has approached Mountbatten-Windsor for comment. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Photographs appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling on all fours over a female lying on the ground have been included in the latest batch of Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.
In two of the images, he is seen touching the person, who is unidentified and fully clothed, on her stomach. Another image shows him staring directly at the camera.
Separate emails released on Friday also suggest the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein invited Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman. The messages were exchanged in August 2010, two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor.
The messages and images are likely to put further pressure on Mountbatten-Windsor, who has faced years of scrutiny over his past friendship with Epstein. BBC News has approached Mountbatten-Windsor for comment. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The emails between Epstein and an account named “The Duke” on 11 and 12 August 2010 suggest that the American wanted to introduce “A” to a 26-year-old Russian woman, whom Epstein suggests he “might enjoy having dinner with”.
He says that the woman would be in London in August 2010.
“The Duke” replies that he would be in Geneva “until the morning of the 22nd but would be delighted to see her” before asking: “Will she be bringing a message from you? Please give her my contact details to get in touch.”
He asks Epstein whether there is “any other information you might know about her that might be useful to know?”
Epstein replies that “she [is] 26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email”.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl in Florida and completed his sentence in July 2010, a month before the email exchange. The BBC has not been able to independently verify the emails.
Also among the latest tranche of documents is an email exchange dated 27 September 2010 between Epstein and the account titled “The Duke”.
Epstein writes that he is in London, adding: “What time woudl [sic] you like me and [redacted], we will also need/ have private time”.
“The Duke” replies: “I am just departing Scotland should be down by 1800. I’ll ring you when I get down if you can give me a number to ring. Alternatively we could have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy. A”.
Epstein replies: “bp pleease [sic].”
The emails do not indicate any wrongdoing. The BBC has contacted Mountbatten-Windsor for a response.
Another document, from 2020, is a formal request for assistance from US authorities asking to interview the former prince as they believed that “Prince Andrew may have been a witness to and/or participant in certain events of relevance to the ongoing investigation”.
They said documentary evidence “has revealed information suggesting that Prince Andrew had knowledge that Maxwell recruited females to engage in sex acts with Epstein and other men” and “there is evidence that Prince Andrew engaged in sexual conduct involving one of Epstein’s victims”.
The letter also said: “Prince Andrew is not presently a target of the investigation, and US authorities have not, to date, gathered evidence that he has committed any crime under US law.”
Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and said he did not “see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction”.
He has faced allegations, which he repeatedly denied, that he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre as a teenager after she said she was trafficked by Epstein.
He paid a financial settlement to Giuffre, who he claims to have never met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.
Some emails which appear to have been between Sarah Ferguson and Epstein have also been found in the latest release.
One email dated 4 April 2009 – signed “Love, Sarah, The red Head.!!” – read: “Hello Jeffrey. I am landing in Palm Beach in a couple of hours. Is there any chance on my quick layover, that I can get to have a quick cup of tea…”
The email goes on to discuss ideas for Ferguson’s company, Mother’s Army. The former Duchess of York refers to Epstein as “My dear spectacular and special friend Jeffrey. You are a legend, and I am so proud of you.”
The financier was still under house arrest when the email exchange was sent.
In another exchange in August 2009, Ferguson emails Epstein again to discuss “my Sarah Ferguson Brand” and thanks the billionaire “for being the brother I have always wished for”.
The emails do not indicate any wrongdoing. The BBC has contacted Ferguson for a response.
More than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images are included in the latest batch. Their release comes six weeks after adeadline mandated in a law signed by President Donald Trump.Many of the documents are heavily redacted, with some files showing pages which are entirely blacked-out.
A law firm representing alleged victims of the late Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced sex offender, has asked a federal judge to intervene after dozens of unredacted victim names appeared in documents released by the US House Oversight Committee earlier this month, media reports said on Wednesday.
Attorneys Bradley Edwards and Brittany Henderson said the release caused “widespread panic” among alleged victims, with several expressing shock that identifying information had been made public despite prior assurances that names would be redacted, according to ABC News.
“I thought the government had promised to redact our names and identifying material,” one alleged victim told the firm, according to a court filing.
Another said the disclosure was “just impossible,” while a third wrote, “I have been unable to mentally and emotionally function or sleep.”
The Justice Department faces a Dec. 19 deadline to release hundreds of thousands of Epstein-related files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The attorneys urged US District Judge Richard Berman to order the Department of Justice (DOJ) to strengthen its review procedures to prevent another release of sensitive material.
“‘These women are not political pawns,’” the filing read, adding that victims “have the right to be treated with dignity and respect and to feel safe and protected by our country, which has failed them time and time again.”
The filing states that the Oversight Committee’s documents included unredacted data for dozens of alleged victims, including minors.
One file alone contained 28 names.
The attorneys said the DOJ either “does not know the identities of all the victims” or is “intentionally failing to protect victims from public exposure.”
The lawyers noted that the DOJ has acknowledged that Epstein harmed “over one thousand victims” and asked the court to confirm whether the department had attempted to redact all corresponding names before sharing documents with Congress.
They also said victims had been unable to reach DOJ officials to prevent further breaches.
“Despite numerous pleas for assistance,” they wrote, “the Department of Justice has been the primary violator of the victims’ identity protection thus far.”
The DOJ has separately asked courts in New York and Florida to authorize the release of grand jury transcripts and exhibits from Epstein- and Maxwell-related cases, records that are typically kept confidential.
Judge Berman responded by ordering the DOJ to provide by Dec. 1 a “detailed description” of the materials it plans to release and its redaction procedures to protect victim identities.
In a separate filing, US Attorney Jay Clayton said his office would “confer with counsel for known victims concerning names and terms for withholding and redactions” and outlined categories of material the DOJ intends to release, including witness interview notes, search warrant applications, financial records, and documents from the Epstein estate.
