Meet the high-profile Emirati business leader lawmakers are linking to Epstein ‘torture’ email

U.S. officers made new disclosures from the Epstein recordsdata on Monday, naming who they consider was the recipient behind a disturbing email despatched by the deceased financier and intercourse felony Jeffrey Epstein, wherein he referenced a supposed “torture video.”

That identify is Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, considered one of the Emirates’ strongest business figures, who, for years, maintained a relationship with Epstein, with the communications typically together with express content material, in accordance to paperwork just lately launched by the U.S. Justice Division.

The newest revelation comes after Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. reviewed unredacted paperwork at the Justice Division on Monday.

Massie posted a screenshot of the email on the social media platform X. In the email, Epstein wrote to a redacted recipient: “the place are you? Are you okay, I beloved the torture video.”  The reply said: “I’m in china I will probably be in the US 2nd week of Could.”

Alongside the screenshot, Massie wrote that, “a sultan appears to have despatched this,” and known as on the DOJ to make the info public.

That caught the consideration of Deputy Lawyer Normal Todd Blanche, who responded to Massie on X, stating the redaction protected personally identifiable info in an email deal with. He added that Sulayem’s identify appeared unredacted elsewhere in the launched recordsdata and linked to a doc containing his identify.

Massie later stated Blanche had “tacitly admitted that Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem was the sender of the torture video.”

CNBC sought remark from Sulayem via DP World, the place he serves as chairman and CEO, however didn’t obtain a response. Sulayem has not been accused of any felony wrongdoing. It is usually unclear precisely what the referenced “torture video” was, and whether or not it had truly been despatched from Sulayem to Epstein.

Authorities have pressured {that a} point out in the Epstein recordsdata doesn’t point out proof of wrongdoing nor show that the identify was a part of a purported shopper record or blackmail scheme.

Nonetheless, the email provides yet one more thread to a tapestry of years of communications between Sulayem and Epstein, which referenced every part from business offers, politics to intercourse.

The Epstein recordsdata, particularly following the newest releases, have shed new gentle on how the deceased intercourse felony networked and fraternized with influential figures in politics and business.

But amongst the many names prominently featured, Sulayem stands out, not just for his stage of intimacy with Epstein, however for his prominence and sway in each the political and world business realms.

In his house metropolis of Dubai, Sulayem is thought to be a number one business determine, coming from considered one of the Emirate’s essential households. His father was an advisor to the ruling Al Maktoum household and Sulayem himself performed a key function in the ascendance of Dubai as an financial hub.

Sulayem oversaw the development of Dubai’s Jebel Ali port into a significant deep-water transport hub and the creation of DP World, a logistics empire that now spans the globe and oversees ports that deal with a tenth of the world’s container commerce.

He additionally led Nakheel Properties, a Dubai government-owned developer behind giant synthetic island tasks, although he was changed amid a significant board restructuring following Dubai World’s debt disaster throughout the 2008 monetary disaster.

His outstanding management roles made him an vital consultant of Dubai’s economic system amongst each the management in the UAE and the worldwide neighborhood. Sulayem appeared frequently in worldwide boards, together with the World Financial Discussion board in Davos, typically rubbing shoulders with politicians and giving talking engagements.

Nonetheless, emails launched by the DOJ counsel that Epstein noticed a really totally different facet of the Sultan — and in him, a good friend and confidant, trusted sufficient to interact in high-stakes discussions of business and intercourse.

A search of the identify “Sulayem” on the DOJ’s Epstein library yields hundreds of outcomes, lots of which seem to be email exchanges between the two from round 2007 via 2019, lengthy after the financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.

The DOJ’s file launch reveals that Epstein as soon as referred to Sulayem as a “shut private good friend” he had recognized for 8 years. He additionally described Sulayem as considered one of his most trusted buddies in different writings. 

In the world of Epstein, being a trusted good friend appeared to have include intimate communications concerning matters together with however not restricted to: preparations with masseuses; sexual encounters with ladies; escort and prostitution providers; lewd feedback and jokes; and pornography.

The 2 typically appeared to be discussing in-person conferences. On a number of events, Sulayem corresponded with Epstein about Little St. James, Epstein’s non-public island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which prosecutors allege was used as a base for intercourse trafficking.

The Epstein-Sulayem emails additionally spotlight how Epstein typically acted as a superconnector and liaison for his wealthy and highly effective confidants.

In a single 2014 email, Epstein appeared to invite former Labour cupboard minister Peter Mandelson to be part of a board of Sulayem’s, writing: “sultan [sic] has requested me to encourage you to be part of his board.”

The recordsdata additionally seem to present Epstein connecting former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Sulayem by way of email in 2015. That comes after a report from Drop Web site Information in January recommended that Epstein had brokered a number of conferences between Ehud Barak and Sulayem, citing beforehand launched emails.

Ehud Barak has beforehand defended his business with Epstein, explaining that at the time, he believed the businessman had paid his debt to society, and that he himself hadn’t been accused of wrongdoing. 

In accordance to Bloomberg’s viewing of the public recordsdata and others obtained by the outlet final summer season, Epstein additionally tried to assist join Sulayem to figures similar to an aide to former French President Nicolas Sarkozy; Les Wexner, the retail billionaire and longtime Epstein patron behind Victoria’s Secret; and Jes Staley, who in the late 2000s was a senior government at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Sarkozy has not publicly addressed alleged ties to Epstein. Wexner stated in 2019 that he had beforehand employed Epstein however was unaware of the unlawful conduct for which Epstein was later indicted. In June, Staley failed to overturn a call by the U.Ok. Monetary Conduct Authority that discovered he had “recklessly” misled regulators in 2019 about the nature of his relationship with Epstein.

CNBC additionally confirmed that the newest DOJ recordsdata embody a 2010 email from Epstein to Sulayem, asking him if he wished to meet Thomas Pritzker, government chairman of Hyatt Motels. A consultant of Pritzker declined to remark.

In the wake of the world monetary disaster in 2009, Epstein despatched an email addressing an unidentified “sultan” concerning an obvious funding deal and a fee to be made to Epstein. “Your folks ought to discuss to Pritsker,” Epstein wrote, including that “Hyatt is the =erfect reply to MGM. not Barrrack.”

Epstein could’ve been referring to on line casino operator MGM Mirage, which Epstein and Sulayem had exchanged articles about. In 2009, Sulayem’s Dubai World had reportedly filed a lawsuit in opposition to the MGM Mirage for enormous value overruns.

Epstein additionally appeared to refer the “sultan” to Pritzker’s Hyatt over “Barrrack.” It’s unclear who he was referring to, however non-public fairness actual property investor Thomas Barrack appeared in different Epstein’s emails with Sulayem. 

In a December 2009 email, Epstein despatched a few emails to Staley concerning investments and a potential assembly, additionally with an unspecified “sultan.”

Epstein and Sulaymen additionally shared particulars of their separate conferences with different outstanding figures, notably U.S. President Donald Trump and other people inside his circle.

The Epstein recordsdata point out Sulayem was invited to Trump’s first presidential inauguration by Thomas Barrack, a U.S. diplomat at the moment serving as U.S. ambassador to Turkey and particular envoy for Syria. “Ought to I settle for the invitation,” Sulayem requested Epstein in a January 2017 email.  

Epstein, in accordance to recordsdata, was additionally linked to Steve Bannon, Trump’s former senior adviser and a key architect of his 2016 election victory. 

“We’ve develop into buddies you’ll like him,” Epstein stated of Bannon to Sulayem in an email in February 2018. “Trump would not like him,” Sulayem replied. “dont belive the press,” responded Epstein.

Bannon has stated little publicly about his relationship with Epstein, although he has known as for the launch of the Epstein recordsdata.

DP World didn’t reply to a request for remark from CNBC on this story, together with on whether or not the firm deliberate to hold Sulayem in his place.

No motion has been taken in opposition to Sulayem since his messages with Epstein have been first revealed final month.

On Wednesday, Canada’s second-largest pension fund advised CNBC it might halt future offers with Dubai’s DP World following the Epstein revelations, saying it had “made it clear to the firm that we anticipate it to make clear the state of affairs and take the crucial actions.”

It was additionally not instantly clear whether or not worldwide establishments with which Sulayem has been concerned would reply to the disclosures. For instance, Sulayem is listed as an agenda contributor at the World Financial Discussion board.

DP World, in March 2022, additionally turned a “Champion” of the UN Girls HeForShe Alliance, an initiative encouraging males and establishments to assist gender equality. Sulayem and DP World had been welcomed into the program to assist “spearhead transformative change and allyship to obtain a gender equal world,” a spokesperson stated at the time.

Sulayem was quoted as saying: “Turning into a UN Girls HeForShe Champion is a good honor, and I really feel very humbled to be working alongside such esteemed leaders to speed up progress towards gender equality.” 

“I consider in not simply attracting, creating, and retaining feminine expertise in the commerce and logistics trade, however really specializing in efforts to construct a world ecosystem that’s equitable and honest for all.”

In a press release to CNBC, a UN Girls spokesperson stated the group’s previous interactions with Sulayem and DPWorld have been restricted beneath the initiative, which resulted in December 2024. 

“The target was to affect institutional practices of DP World to positively affect gender norms and promote ladies’s management in a historically male-dominated sector … UN Girls has no present partnership or collaboration with Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem or DPWorld,” she added.

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