Epstein helps DP World in London port project, reports Telegraph
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The sex offender Jeffrey Epstein aided Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of UAE port operator DP World, as he sought to extract government loan guarantees and investment for the £1.8bn London Port project, reveals the Telegraph, an influential London based daily.
According to the Daily, in a July 2009 email from Mr bin Sulayem to Epstein, the businessman wrote: “Since banks are not very optimistic on UK economy UK Govt to support/Guarantee the debt.”
It may be mentioned that DP World is in negotiations with the interim government for getting a contract to operate the New Mooring Terminal of the Chittagong Port.
Epstein forwarded a 2009 email asking for investment to Lord Mandelson, who was at the time the business secretary, according to a series of documents released by the US Department of Justice, the Telegraph report said.
The May 2009 message, written by Mr bin Sulayem, described the project as the “UK’s largest inward investment infrastructure project [sic] £1.8bn” and “one of the UK’s largest job creation opportunities”.
“Mr bin Sulayem asked for “UK government support to fund this immediate [sic] of site infrastructure”.
At the time, DP World, which is owned by the Dubai government, was building a deep-water port on the Thames in Essex that would allow container ships to dock closer to the capital. DP World said the new port would create 36,000 jobs and boost the UK economy by £3.2bn per year.
“In one exchange in November 2009, Mr bin Sulayem asked for Epstein to review a message intended for Lord Mandelson, adding he was “sending this to Peter in the next 20 mnts [sic]”
“The email called for the UK government to guarantee loans to fund the project, stressing the importance of the arrangement ahead of a state visit by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the prime minister of the UAE”.
“In his email, Mr bin Sulayem warned that without the taxpayer’s support, the “viability of the project remains uncertain”. The email called for Lord Mandelson to “guarantee (wrap) the commercial funding” to encourage UK banks to “meet any funding shortfall on appropriate terms”.
Epstein responded with what he called “small edits” to the message.
“In another email, Epstein said he gave Mr bin Sulayem Lord Mandelson’s personal email as they attempted to set up a meeting in September 2009” the Telegraph report added.
“In January 2010, DP World confirmed it would go ahead with the UK port project. Gordon Brown, the prime minister at the time, said the investment represented a “massive vote of confidence in the UK’s economic recovery” from the financial crisis”.
The email exchanges came in the midst of a financial crisis at DP World, which was ultimately bailed out by Abu Dhabi.
“The latest release of Epstein emails provides intimate details of his ties with the world’s business elite, including Mr bin Sulayem”.
Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges, exchanged hundreds of emails with Mr bin Sulayem. These included emails allegedly arranging training for a Russian “masseuse”.
In another, Mr bin Sulayem appears to send Epstein details of an erotic “full massage” in Tokyo.
Epstein faced accusations from dozens of women that he engaged in sex trafficking and forced them to conduct sexual massages at his private island of Little St James in the Caribbean.
The latest disclosures also lay bare the extent of Lord Mandelson’s ties with Epstein. On Sunday night, Lord Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party over the latest disclosures.
In an exchange from 2014, Epstein told Lord Mandelson he had been asked by DP World to try to convince the former Labour business secretary to join its board.