Epstein and the Gulf

CBS News, reviewing the releases, found that Epstein flew alone to Riyadh in late 2016 and wrote to a friend that “MBS sent me a TENT carpets and all.” An assistant’s note asked whether “the king” was taking care of it. A photo with the crown prince hung in his townhouse, and in April 2018 he texted Steve Bannon that MBS “has the Louvre and 400 guards.” An expired 1980s Austrian passport found in his safe, in a false name, listed a Saudi residence. [1]

Epstein discussed Saudi business, including the Aramco listing, with contacts across the region. CBS found no evidence of Saudi involvement in his sex trafficking. Senator Ron Wyden has pointed to Treasury records showing hundreds of millions of dollars moving through his accounts; where all of it came from is not in the public record. [1][2]

Hundreds of emails from 2007 to 2017 show Epstein and bin Sulayem in close contact; Epstein described him as one of his most trusted friends and told Peter Mandelson to “be nice to Sultan.” Their exchanges included discussion of women, and in 2009 Epstein wrote to him about a “torture video,” never explained. [1]

In February 2026 bin Sulayem left DP World after British and Canadian investors suspended new investment. He has not been charged with any crime, and no record shows he took part in abuse. This is a case of a career ended by documented closeness, not by a proven offence: a distinction this site keeps throughout. [1][2]

During the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar, Epstein wrote on 9 Jul 2017 to Sheikh Jabor Al Thani that Qatar should recognize Israel or put a billion dollars into a fund for terror victims. He tried to set up a meeting between Qatar’s former prime minister and the Saudi crown prince, and in December 2018 he brought Ehud Barak and the former Qatari leader together in London. In other emails he claimed credit for advice to leaders, including India’s prime minister. [1][2]

Read from one side, this is evidence that Epstein was an agent of Israeli interests; read from another, it is a convicted man selling himself as indispensable. The emails show he tried. They do not show any government acted on his advice. For the intelligence theories, see was he an intelligence asset? and Ehud Barak. [1][2]