Epstein helped DP World over £1.8b British port deal

Jeffrey Epstein helped a Dubai businessman lobby Lord Mandelson to support a £1.8 billion port on the River Thames.

The sex offender aided Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of UAE port operator DP World, as he sought to extract government loan guarantees and investment for the London Gateway project.

Epstein forwarded a 2009 email asking for investment to Lord Mandelson, who was at the time the business secretary, according to a series of documents released by the US Department of Justice.

The May 2009 message, written by bin Sulayem, described the project as the “UK’s largest inward investment infrastructure project [sic] £1.8bn” and “one of the UK’s largest job creation opportunities”.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem asked for “UK government support to fund this immediate [sic] of site infrastructure”.

At the time, DP World, which is owned by the Dubai government, was building a deep-water port on the Thames in Essex that would allow container ships to dock closer to the capital. DP World said the new port would create 36,000 jobs and boost the UK economy by £3.2bn per year.

In another July 2009 email from bin Sulayem to Epstein, the businessman wrote, “Since banks are not very optimistic on UK economy UK Govt to support/Guarantee the debt.”

In one exchange in November 2009, bin Sulayem asked for Epstein to review a message intended for Lord Mandelson, adding he was “sending this to Peter in the next 20 mnts [sic]”.

The email called for the UK government to guarantee loans to fund the project, stressing the importance of the arrangement ahead of a state visit by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the prime minister of the UAE.

In his email, Mr bin Sulayem warned that without the taxpayer’s support, the “viability of the project remains uncertain”. The email called for Lord Mandelson to “guarantee (wrap) the commercial funding” to encourage UK banks to “meet any funding shortfall on appropriate terms”.

Epstein responded with what he called “small edits” to the message.

In another email, Epstein said he gave bin Sulayem Lord Mandelson’s personal email as they attempted to set up a meeting in September 2009.

In January 2010, DP World confirmed it would go ahead with the UK port project. Gordon Brown, the prime minister at the time, said the investment represented a “massive vote of confidence in the UK’s economic recovery” from the financial crisis.

The email exchanges came in the midst of a financial crisis at DP World, which was ultimately bailed out by Abu Dhabi.

The latest release of Epstein emails provides intimate details of his ties with the world’s business elite, including Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.

Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges, exchanged hundreds of emails with bin Sulayem. These included emails allegedly arranging training for a Russian “masseuse”.

In another, bin Sulayem appears to send Epstein details of an erotic “full massage” in Tokyo.

Epstein faced accusations from dozens of women that he engaged in sex trafficking and forced them to conduct sexual massages at his private island of Little St James in the Caribbean.

The latest disclosures also lay bare the extent of Lord Mandelson’s ties with Epstein. On Sunday night, Lord Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party over the latest disclosures.

The leaks included an image of him in his underwear and details of thousands of dollars in payments from Epstein to the peer and his husband.

In an exchange from 2014, Epstein told Lord Mandelson he had been asked by DP World to try to convince the former Labour business secretary to join its board.

DP World and Lord Mandelson were contacted for comment. Lord Mandelson has said he regrets “ever having known Epstein” and has apologised “unequivocally” to his victims.

The Bangladesh government has decided to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chattogram Port to the Dubai-based port operator DP World, a move that has sparked protests and work stoppages by port workers and employees at the country’s prime seaport.

According to DP World’s website, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem is still serving as the company’s chairman.