The convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein suggested a senior US banker “ask Andrew” about Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean. The FT has a report today on emails unearthed by JP Morgan’s investigation into its former executive Jes Staley and his relationship with Epstein. The emails show that Epstein claimed to have introduced Staley to Alastair Darling and Peter Mandelson, the former Labour grandees, shortly after his release from jail for sex crimes. Darling says he can’t remember meeting Staley and Mandelson regrets (through a spokesperson) ever knowing Epstein. But the lines from this story that will linger are about the prince who denies having sex with Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, even though he reached a multimillion-pound out-of-court settlement with her in 2022. In one email Epstein urges Staley to ask Andrew about Little St James, his bolthole in the US Virgin Islands, and to “tell him about your boat plans”. In another Epstein forwards a message apparently from Prince Andrew on behalf of a US business looking for “a $200 mn working capital line”. It’s not clear where that introduction went, but it does seem that the full story of who met whom at Epstein’s behest remains untold. Listen to our new podcast series, Epstein’s Moneymen.
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