Newly released US Justice Department documents show that Jeffrey Epstein, the late American financier, was described as a “manager of wealth” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The files, published Friday, also include letters in which Epstein repeatedly discussed the possibility of meeting Putin, though it remains unclear whether a meeting ever took place.
Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, was a wealthy financier with ties to high-profile business leaders, politicians and celebrities.
The newly released materials include over 3 million pages of documents, 180,000 images, 2,000 videos, and hundreds of Epstein’s personal letters and emails.
The Justice Department said the release is part of a long-running investigation into Epstein’s criminal activities.
Russian independent outlet Agentstvo, which reviewed the files, noted that Putin’s name appears more than 1,000 times in the files, while “Russia” is mentioned nearly 5,900 times.
Emails hint at Putin meetings
Epstein appears to have probed opportunities to meet Putin as he wrote, “did you have putin on your boat??” in an October 2010 email to someone with a redacted email address.
Later that year, when applying for a Russian visa, Epstein reportedly wrote, “do i need to get visa,? I have a friend of putin,s, should i ask him?”
In August 2011, he told a UAE businessman that “putin might come to the states. I would prefer to see him there, so sochi is unlikely.”
Correspondence with Thorbjørn Jagland
Epstein repeatedly discussed the possibility of meeting Putin in letters to Thorbjørn Jagland, then Secretary General of the Council of Europe and former Prime Minister of Norway.
- May 2013: Epstein wrote to Jagland that Bill Gates would be in Paris, adding, “putin is welcome to join for dinner.”
- June 2013: Epstein said he was returning to the US without a reply. Jagland noted a call regarding a meeting with Putin and added, “I asked about you and they said it would happen.” There were no confirmed visits by Putin to France that year.
- January 2014: Epstein asked Jagland to “explain to Putin that Russia needs a more advanced version of Bitcoin.”
- July 2015: He wrote that he “still would like to meet Putin and talk economy.”
- October 2017: Epstein requested Jagland to discuss digital currencies with Putin.
- June 2018: Epstein wrote he “would love” to meet Putin and offered to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, noting previous meetings with Russia’s UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin.
“Wealth Manager” for Putin
An FBI report dated Nov. 27, 2017, based on a confidential human source (CHS), explicitly states that Epstein “was President Vladimir Putin’s wealth manager and provided similar services to President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe.”
Previous DOJ releases highlighted Epstein’s ties to top executives, celebrities, academics, and politicians, including US President Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
The case has remained a source of public fascination, particularly among Trump supporters, amid long-standing allegations of a sex trafficking network for the global elite.