Prominent Emirati business leader links to Epstein’s ‘torture’ emails

U.S. authorities on Monday revealed new information from Epstein’s files, naming the likely recipient behind a disturbing email in which the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein referred to an alleged “torture video.”

His name was Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, one of the Emirates’ most powerful businessmen, and he maintained a long-standing relationship with Epstein, whose interactions were often explicit, according to documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The latest revelation came after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) reviewed unredacted documents at the Justice Department on Monday.

Massey posted a screenshot of the email on social media platform X. In the email, Epstein wrote to the redacted recipient: “Where are you? It’s okay, I loved the torture video.” The reply said, “I’m in China but will be in the US in the second week of May.”

“Looks like the Sultan sent this,” Massey wrote alongside the screenshot, calling on the Justice Department to release the information.

This caught the attention of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who responded to Massey with an X and said the redactions protected personally identifiable information in the email address. He added that Sulayem’s name was not redacted elsewhere in the published file and was linked to documents containing his name.

Massey later said that Blanche had “tacitly acknowledged that Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem was the sender of the torture videos”.

CNBC did not respond to a request for comment through DP World, where Sulayem is chairman and CEO. Mr. Sulayem has not been charged with criminal wrongdoing. It is also unclear what exactly the “torture video” mentioned was and whether it was actually sent by Sulayem to Epstein.

Authorities stress that the mentions in the Epstein files do not show evidence of wrongdoing and do not prove that his name was included in the client list or the alleged blackmail scheme.

But the email added another thread to the long-running tapestry of communications between Sulayem and Epstein that touched on everything from business deals to politics to sex.

Epstein’s files are shedding new light on how the late sex offender networked and befriended influential figures in politics and business, especially following the latest disclosures.

But among the many names featured prominently, Sulayem stands out not only for his level of intimacy with Epstein, but also for his importance and influence in the realms of both politics and global business.

In his native Dubai, Sulayem comes from a major Emirati family and is considered a powerful businessman. His father was an advisor to the ruling Al Maktoum family, and Sulayem himself played a key role in Dubai’s rise as an economic center.

Sulayem oversaw the expansion of DP World into an international logistics empire that grew Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port into a major hub for deep-sea shipping and now oversees a port that handles a tenth of the world’s container trade.

He was also the president of Nakheel Properties, a Dubai government-owned development company behind large-scale artificial island projects, but was replaced during a major board reorganization following Dubai World’s debt problems during the 2008 financial crisis.

His outstanding leadership role has made him an important representative of the Dubai economy among leaders of both the UAE and the international community. Sulayem regularly attended global forums, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, often rubbing shoulders with politicians and giving speeches.

But emails released by the Justice Department suggest that Epstein saw a very different side of Sulayem, a friend and confidant trusted enough to participate in high-stakes discussions about business and sex.

A search for the name “Sulayem” in the Justice Department’s Epstein Library yields thousands of results, many of which appear to be email exchanges between the two men from around 2007 to 2019, long after the financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.

Epstein once referred to Sulayem as a “close personal friend” who had known him for eight years, according to documents released by the Justice Department. He has also described Sulayem as one of his most trusted friends in other writings.

In Epstein’s world, being a trusted friend apparently included arranging with masseuses, making arrangements with masseuses, and personal communication on topics including but not limited to. Sexual contact with women. Escort and prostitution services. Mean comments and jokes. And porn.

The two seemed to meet frequently in person and talk. Sulayem corresponded with Epstein several times about Little St. James, Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which prosecutors allege was used as a base for sex trafficking.

Epstein and Sulayem’s emails also highlight that Epstein frequently acted as a superconnector and liaison for wealthy and powerful confidants.

In one 2014 email, Mr. Epstein appeared to invite former Labor cabinet minister Peter Mandelson to join Mr. Suleyem’s board, writing: “The Sultan (sic) has asked me to recommend you to join his board.”

The files also appear to show that Epstein connected former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Sulayem via email in 2015. This came after Drop Site News reported in January, citing previously released emails, suggesting that Mr. Epstein had brokered several meetings between Mr. Ehud Barak and Mr. Sulayem.

Ehud Barak has previously defended his business with Epstein, explaining in 2019 that he believes Epstein has repaid his debt to society and that he has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Mr. Epstein also tried to help connect Mr. Sulayem with people including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s aides, according to Bloomberg’s review of public files obtained by the agency last summer and other documents. Les Wexner is a retail billionaire and longtime Epstein backer of Victoria’s Secret. and Jess Staley, who was a senior executive at JPMorgan Chase in the late 2000s.

Sarkozy has not publicly addressed his alleged relationship with Epstein. Mr. Wexner said in 2019 that he had previously employed Mr. Epstein but had no knowledge of the misconduct for which Mr. Epstein was later charged. In June, Mr Staley failed to overturn a UK Financial Conduct Authority decision that found he had “recklessly” misled regulators in 2019 about the nature of his relationship with Mr Epstein.

CNBC also confirmed that the latest Justice Department files include a 2010 email from Epstein to Sulayem asking him if he wanted to meet Thomas Pritzker, executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels. A representative for Mr. Pritzker declined to comment.

In the wake of the 2009 global financial crisis, Epstein sent emails to an unidentified “Sultan” regarding apparent investment transactions and payments to Epstein. “The people should talk to Mr. Pritzker,” he wrote, adding, “The perfect answer to MGM is Hyatt. Not Barracks.”

Mr. Epstein may have been referring to MGM Mirage, a casino operator and developer that has a joint venture with Dubai World and about which Mr. Sulayem and Mr. Epstein have exchanged articles. Sulayem’s Dubai World reportedly sued MGM Mirage in 2009 over massive cost overruns on the project as it sought additional funding.

Mr. Epstein also appears to refer to Mr. Pritzker’s Hyatt as a “sultan” rather than a “barrack.” It’s unclear who he was referring to, but private equity real estate investor Thomas Barrack appeared in other Epstein emails with Sulayem.

In December 2009, Epstein sent several emails to Staley about investments and possible meetings with an unspecified “King.”

Mr. Epstein and Mr. Sulemen also shared details of separate meetings with other prominent figures, particularly US President Donald Trump and those around him.

Epstein’s files show that Sulayem was invited to attend Trump’s first presidential inauguration by Thomas Barrack, the U.S. diplomat who is currently the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria. Suleyem emailed Epstein in January 2017, asking him if he should accept the invitation.

According to the documents, Epstein also had a relationship with Steve Bannon, a former senior adviser to Trump and an architect of his 2016 election victory.

In a February 2018 email to Sulayem about Bannon, Epstein said, “We became friends who grew to like him,” to which Sulayem responded, “Trump doesn’t like him.” “Don’t believe the press,” Epstein replied.

Bannon has called for the release of the Epstein files, but has said little publicly about his relationship with the late financier.

DP World did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC on this story, including whether CNBC intends to retain Sulayem.

No action has been taken against Mr. Sulayem since his messages with Mr. Epstein were first made public last month.

On Wednesday, Canada’s second-largest pension fund told CNBC it was suspending future business with Dubai’s DP World in the wake of the Epstein revelations, saying it had “made clear to the company that we expect it to clarify the situation and take the necessary steps.”

It was not immediately clear whether international organizations with which Sulayem has been involved would respond to the disclosure. For example, Sulayem is listed as an agenda contributor at the World Economic Forum.

In March 2022, DP World also became a “champion” of the UN Women HeForShe Alliance, an initiative that encourages men and institutions to support gender equality. Sulayem and DP World were welcomed into the program to help “spearhead change and alliances to achieve a world of gender equality,” a spokesperson said at the time.

“It is a great honor to be a UN Women HeForShe Champion and I am extremely humbled to be working with such esteemed leaders to accelerate progress towards gender equality,” Sulayem said.

“I believe we need to truly focus on efforts to attract, develop and retain female talent in the trade and logistics industry, as well as build a global ecosystem that is fair and just for all.”

A UN Women spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC that the organization’s past interactions with Sulayem and DP World have been limited under the initiative, which ends in December 2024.

“The objective was to influence DP World’s institutional practices in order to positively impact gender norms and promote women’s leadership in traditionally male-dominated fields…UN Women currently has no partnership or collaboration with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem or DP World,” she added.

— CNBC’s Emma Graham and Matthew Chin contributed to this report