Emails released as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files show Cyprus repeatedly referenced as a travel location, potential jurisdiction and subject of financial discussion in correspondence involving senior US political figures, a prominent author and the head of a global ports operator, according to documents reviewed.
The emails, dating from 2013 to 2019, include exchanges between Jeffrey Epstein and figures such as Steve Bannon, Michael Wolff and Sultan bin Sulayem, in which Cyprus appears intermittently as a point of reference.
In one May 2018 email chain, bin Sulayem wrote to Bannon, copying Epstein, saying: “I am in Cyprus now,” while arranging a meeting in the United Arab Emirates that included helicopter travel and discussions in Dubai. Bin Sulayem is chairman of Dubai Ports World (DP World), which operates the port of Limassol under a long-term concession agreement with the Cypriot state. The emails do not state the purpose of the Cyprus visit and do not suggest that Epstein was present in the country or involved in any activity there.
According to The Wall Street Journal, in 2017 Sultan bin Sulayem made a payment of $6,200 to Epstein and a day later Epstein transferred the same amount back to him. The journal also reported that bin Sulayem was scheduled to visit Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse sometime during 2011–2014, though it did not provide further detail on whether that visit took place.
The correspondence places Epstein in the role of intermediary or observer, copied into exchanges between senior figures but not directing the discussions.
In a separate February 2019 email to Wolff, Epstein relayed a narrative involving a Russian oligarch, property transactions and financial institutions. In that message, Epstein asserted that the oligarch was “a large shareholder in a [Cypriot] bank,” which he claimed had been implicated in Russian money laundering. The email offers no evidence or sourcing for the assertion, which appears as Epstein’s own characterisation.
Earlier emails show Cyprus appearing in shorthand references linked to financial and scientific interests. In April 2013, Epstein wrote the fragmentary line “Cyprus? Bvi accounts, bio tech” in an exchange connected to a query involving businessman Len Blavatnik, without elaboration or follow-up in the documents reviewed.
Cyprus is also mentioned as a possible base for academic or research activity. In January 2017, British academic Peter Fenwick suggested to Epstein: “We could move to Cyprus which would be good,” though the correspondence does not indicate whether such a move was pursued or implemented.
The documents do not provide evidence that Epstein owned property in Cyprus, held bank accounts there or conducted criminal activity in the country.
Background
The emails form part of a newly released tranche of Epstein-related material made public by the US Department of Justice, which on Friday disclosed more than three million pages of documents connected to the case.
Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. He had previously pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution, serving a sentence that later drew widespread criticism as overly lenient.
Epstein’s accusers have alleged that he ran an extensive sex-trafficking operation involving underage girls and maintained contacts with members of the political, financial and social elite. Epstein denied wrongdoing before his death.
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