Stories — Epstein Africa

Long reads

Multi-year syntheses drawn from the atomised stories below.

Sultan Bin Sulayem: Ten Years of African Ports

From 2010 to 2019, Sultan Bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai ports operator DP World, used Jeffrey Epstein as a private audience for his African dealmaking. Across the decade Sultan briefed him from Kazakhstan helicopters, a Nairobi inauguration, a Dakar airport, and a Davos hotel room. The method was consistent: Sultan scouted presidents, Epstein opened rooms, the numbers rarely closed. Six months before Epstein was arrested, Sultan was still sending him itineraries signed off by the Saudi crown prince. He resigned as DP World chairman on February 13, 2026, fourteen days after the DOJ public release of the Epstein files.

South AfricaIvory CoastGabonCongoRwandaSenegalKenyaUgandaSouth SudanCentral African RepublicNigeriaDjiboutiEritreaTanzaniaEthiopia

Karim Wade: Nine Years Inside Epstein's Senegalese Laboratory

From November 2010 to March 2019, Jeffrey Epstein worked Karim Wade, son of Senegal's president, through every stage of his rise, arrest, incarceration, pardon and exile. Sultan Bin Sulayem made the introduction. Epstein pitched a Senegalese banking center within 48 hours. Over the next nine years he routed Wade through JPMorgan, the Gates Foundation, Beijing, Rebeuss prison, Washington lobbyists, the Council of Europe and Larry Summers. When Wade walked out of prison in June 2016, a Qatari plane was waiting. Epstein was still pitching him to investors two years later.

The Gates Back Channel: Polio, Intelligence, and the Rothschild Bridge

From 2009 to 2019, Boris Nikolic served as Bill Gates's science advisor and as the private pipe through which Jeffrey Epstein ran intelligence to the Gates Foundation. Classified Gates-funded field reports on polio eradication in Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan flowed from Nasra Hassan through Terje Rød-Larsen to Epstein. One was marked "plz pass on to Bill Gates." The same channel carried Ariane de Rothschild's private contacts for Ivory Coast and Qatar, and structured $20 million investment deals between Gates and Nikolic with Epstein as architect. Two days before his death, Epstein named Nikolic backup executor of his estate.

CameroonIvory CoastMozambiqueNigeriaSomaliaSouth AfricaTanzaniaZimbabwe

Ouattara's Abidjan: Four Years of Epstein's Ivory Coast Access

From December 2010 to October 2014, Jeffrey Epstein ran a private channel into the presidency of Côte d'Ivoire through Alassane Ouattara's niece Nina Keita. After Ouattara won the post-election war, Epstein landed in Abidjan for two days with the president and his ministers. Within weeks Leon Black's office at Apollo was routing requests to the mining minister through Epstein's assistant. The Gates Foundation's Ivory Coast contact ran through him. Ehud Barak closed a 2014 mass-surveillance contract with the government. Epstein pitched Ouattara's Goldman alum budget minister to Larry Summers.

Libya: The Sovereign-Wealth Access Pipeline

Between October 2010 and June 2013, Jeffrey Epstein sat in the middle of three separate pitches for access to Libya's sovereign wealth. Prince Andrew arranged a Tripoli trip while a UAE banker was routing a $3 billion Libya-to-Dubai loan through Andrew's office. Gregory Brown of GlobalCast Partners sent 42 emails offering Libya's frozen $80 billion, the Goldman Sachs settlement mandate, and the country's first elected president. Bill Conover upgraded from "total access to the new gov" to the Al Otaiba group, principal financial sponsors of the rebellion. Epstein never moved. Libya's sovereign funds are still frozen.

Daniel Siad and the Brunel Trafficking Network

From 2005 to 2019, Daniel Siad scouted women for Jeffrey Epstein across four continents. Introduced by Jean-Luc Brunel, the French modeling agent later charged with sex trafficking, Siad sent photos and bank details from Paris, Stockholm, Bangkok, Ibiza, and by 2013 Cape Town. The trafficking infrastructure ran alongside Epstein's Africa business: Brunel wanted to fly to Ethiopia with Shaher Abdulhak, who held the country's tobacco monopoly. SDNY prosecutors flagged Siad's contact file in December 2018. Two months after Epstein's arrest the FBI traced a victim to South Africa, recruited there and flown to his Florida, New York and Virgin Islands residences.

South AfricaEthiopia

All stories

How Epstein Brokered a Mass Surveillance Deal for Ivory Coast

Between 2011 and 2014, Epstein used his connections to President Ouattara's niece to help Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak sell a mass surveillance system to Ivory Coast.

Epstein, Prince Andrew, and the Race to Control Libya's Billions

In October 2010, Epstein emailed a royal aide about flying to Tripoli with Prince Andrew to access Gaddafi's billions. Nine months later Gaddafi was dead, and a new intermediary was pitching Epstein on the same prize, now frozen in Western banks.

How Sultan Bin Sulayem Brought Karim Wade to Epstein

In November 2010, Sultan Bin Sulayem brokered a meeting between Epstein and Karim Wade, son of Senegal's president. Within 48 hours Epstein was pitching an offshore digital economy for Senegal.

From Dakar to Beijing: How Epstein Triangulated Wade into China

Six months after Sultan brokered the Wade introduction, Epstein connected Senegal's power heir with Chinese billionaire Desmond Shum, then flew to Beijing himself to close the loop.

The Harem Part: Karim Wade's Offer to Epstein

In November 2011, Karim Wade, son of Senegal's president, offered to manage a harem in Epstein's planned Moroccan palace. Epstein replied he wanted 'a separate house for the women' and was copying Prince Bandar bin Sultan's Marrakech palace plans.

The Senegal Banking Project: Epstein, Sultan, Gates, and Karim Wade

In the summer of 2011, Epstein coordinated an investor meeting for Karim Wade's Senegal banking project, with Sultan Bin Sulayem lined up to attend, JPMorgan consulted on high-frequency trading infrastructure, and the Gates Foundation sending a team for municipal finance.

Operation Saving Soldier Wade: How Epstein Got Inside Rebeuss Prison

Karim Wade was arrested in April 2013. Epstein coordinated prison access through Nina Keita, brokered by Paris fixer Rasseck Bourgi, and began paying Wade's defense lawyers through a Moroccan bank routing.

The DC Machine Epstein Built to Free Karim Wade

From late 2015, Epstein funded a Washington lobbying campaign through Nelson Mullins. Bob Crowe worked State Department contacts and Congressional pressure. In June 2016 Crowe reported success. Eight days later Wade walked out of prison and flew to Doha.

From Rebeuss to Doha: Epstein Was Still Pitching Wade the Day He Died

Hours after walking out of prison in June 2016, Karim Wade was on a plane to Qatar. Within weeks he and Epstein had revived the Norwegian LNG deal. Epstein was still pitching him to investors in 2018.

Sultan's Scouting Operation: How Epstein Mapped a Continent

Between 2012 and 2013, Sultan Bin Sulayem moved through Africa and Central Asia: Angola, Gabon, Congo, Kazakhstan. He briefed Epstein from helicopters and energy summits. Epstein identified the financial angles and asked who to call.

AngolaGabonIvory Coast

The Nigeria Ports Deal: Sultan, Zeitlin, and Epstein's Room

In June 2018, Epstein brokered negotiations between DP World chairman Sultan Bin Sulayem and Nigeria sovereign wealth fund chair Jide Zeitlin. When the deal stalled, he cycled through Obama's White House Counsel and the Emir of Kano as social proof.

The Kenya Safari: What Epstein Asked of Miasha Fisher Before She Left

In 2009, Epstein and Peggy Siegal planned a Kenya safari for 21-year-old Miasha Fisher. Ghislaine Maxwell reviewed the full visa and itinerary package and asked what 'the work portion' was.

"Can Bring a Little Baby Back for You.... or Two": Peggy Siegal's Email from the Gate

On December 19, 2009, Peggy Siegal boarded a plane for Kenya on Epstein's dime. From the gate she wrote him a thank-you note. At the end she offered to bring him back a Kenyan child. Boys or girls, she asked. "So Madonna."

Somaliland: The Unrecognized State Sultan Wanted Epstein to Legitimize

Epstein's Somaliland file spans seven years. It opens with a field scout's report from Hargeisa in 2011 and ends with Sultan Bin Sulayem sending a six-document recognition lobbying dossier in April 2018, two months before the Nigeria ports negotiations began.

Terje Rød-Larsen: The Diplomat Who Fed Epstein Intelligence

Terje Rød-Larsen designed the Oslo Accords and led the International Peace Institute for sixteen years. He visited Epstein's island with his family, brokered his meetings with Sultan, and funneled classified UN field intelligence from Nigeria, Somalia, and Pakistan to Bill Gates through Epstein.

"Follow the Money Trail": Peter Mandelson, Epstein, and the South Africa Push

In March 2010, Peter Mandelson texted Epstein after being summoned to a private meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma: 'Do we like South Africa??' Five months later he sent Epstein the business framework for his new advisory firm, Global Counsel LLP, listing South Africa as an explicit Category 1 client target. The archive shows Mandelson using Epstein as a confidant and deal conduit as he built Global Counsel's Africa practice, culminating in a plan to introduce Epstein to a senior Congo Brazzaville Finance Ministry official.

Recruited in South Africa: The FBI Documents on Epstein's International Reach

In October 2019, two months after Epstein's arrest, the FBI's Victim Services Division in New York learned that one of his victims was in South Africa. The FBI VCAC/Human Trafficking unit wrote to the Johannesburg Consular team that she had been recruited in South Africa and had traveled to Epstein's residences in New York, Florida, and the Virgin Islands. The documents show the FBI coordinating across three agencies to bring her to a victims briefing in New York.

"Reputations Converge": How Epstein Introduced Larry Summers to Karim Wade in Doha

On November 29, 2016, Epstein introduced Karim Wade and Larry Summers by email. Summers asked 'Who is the guy you have set me up with?' then agreed to meet. He told Epstein: 'Try always discreet. If u become associated publicly w something the reputations converge.'

Epstein, the Clinton Foundation, and the Rwandan Students He Used to Reach Kagame

In 2006, the Clinton Foundation's foreign policy office arranged meetings between two Rwandan students Epstein sponsored at City College and Epstein himself. Four years later, Epstein cited those students — relocated, in his retelling, to Columbia — as a credential to reach Paul Kagame.

Tracking Bongo: How Epstein Used Karim Wade to Find a Head of State

On June 24, 2012, Epstein asked Karim Wade to check whether Gabon's president Ali Bongo was coming to Paris. A week later Epstein told Sultan: Bongo was 'here with me.' Sultan got to Libreville eleven months later and reported back.

"Zimbabwe Would Be a Great Petrie Dish": Epstein's Currency Experiment That Never Left His Inbox

On June 12, 2015, after reading about Zimbabwe's currency collapse, Epstein pitched two separate contacts on redesigning the country's financial system from scratch. He used the phrase "petrie dish" in both conversations. Joi Ito asked if he was buddies with Mugabe. Epstein said he could get his attention.

The Khartoum Charter: Epstein, Maxwell, and Bill Richardson's Sudan Trip

In late December 2006, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell planned a trip to Khartoum and Darfur with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Epstein claimed Richardson was an 'old friend of the sudanese presidnt.' Richardson's scheduling director asked Maxwell to cover half the charter: $183,000.

Djibouti: How Epstein Played Both Sides of a Power Struggle

Sultan introduced Epstein to the President of Djibouti at the Waldorf Astoria. The same month, Epstein was socializing with Abdourahman Boreh, the president's rival. Sultan warned: 'Plz don't mention to Boreh you met Djibouti president as they both hate each other.' Epstein kept both relationships for seven years.

Ethiopia: Brunel Wanted 'Interesting Girls,' Epstein Wanted the Tobacco Monopoly

In July 2012, Epstein told his Yemeni business partner that his friend who 'owns a modeling agency' wanted to visit Ethiopia because 'he thinks there are interesting girls there.' Four days later Jean-Luc Brunel confirmed. Three years later, the same partner pitched Epstein a $20 million loan against Ethiopia's sole cigarette monopoly.

The Security Machine: How Barak Built a Surveillance Portfolio on Epstein's Money

Between 2014 and 2018, Ehud Barak assembled a portfolio of Israeli security startups with Epstein as investor and advisor. One of those companies, Carbyne, was pitched to Sultan Bin Sulayem for port security during the same months Epstein was brokering the Nigeria ports deal.

NigeriaIvory CoastAfrica

Somaliwood Studios, Bottled Water, and Bonemeal: Epstein's Somaliland Investment Pipeline

In 2012, a correspondent pitched Epstein on building a film studio in Somaliland called 'Somaliwood Studios.' The same year, separate pitches arrived for Somaliland water exports and a solid waste business. Epstein replied to the water pitch: 'I like it.'

Daniel Siad: The Brunel Scout Who Used South Africa as a Recruitment Ground

Daniel Siad scouted young women for Jeffrey Epstein across four continents over thirteen years. Introduced by Jean-Luc Brunel, he operated from Paris, Stockholm, Bangkok, Ibiza, and Cape Town, sending photos, portfolios, and bank details to Epstein's inner circle. SDNY prosecutors flagged his contact file in December 2018.

Sultan Brokers Epstein's Access to South Africa's Casino King Sol Kerzner

On June 25, 2010, Sol Kerzner's office emailed Jeffrey Epstein to arrange a meeting. The contact came at Sultan Bin Sulayem's direction. Sultan told Epstein that Kerzner would 'release the numbers' after they met. Epstein complained he 'never got any numbers.'

Mark Lloyd: The Fixer Who Organized Zuma's Dinner, Then Borrowed Epstein's Money

Mark Lloyd organized a private dinner for South African President Jacob Zuma at the Ritz Hotel in March 2010, inviting Russian models on Epstein's behalf. Five years later, he was requesting a $160,000 loan from Epstein, having already defaulted on a previous one. He also brokered Marrakech property, introduced Epstein to Joi Ito, and in December 2018 arranged 'hotel accommodations for the girls' in Morocco.

South AfricaMorocco

The Boko Haram Briefing: How IPI's Nigeria Intelligence Reached Epstein

Between November 2013 and June 2014, the International Peace Institute produced field intelligence on Boko Haram and Nigeria's polio crisis. Each report traveled the same route: IPI's Vienna office to Terje Rod-Larsen to Jeffrey Epstein. The most detailed document warned of a 'simmering civil war' and predicted significant violence escalation in northern Nigeria.

Leon Black's Office Called Epstein to Reach Ivory Coast's Mining Minister

In February 2012, weeks after Epstein visited Abidjan and met President Ouattara, Leon Black's assistant at Apollo Management contacted Epstein's office to arrange a meeting between Black's associate and Ivory Coast's Minister of Mining. The minister left before any meeting took place.

Gregory Brown Pitched Epstein on Libya's $100 Billion Rebuilding, Then Watched It Collapse

Between June 2011 and June 2013, Gregory Brown, chairman of GlobalCast Partners, sent Jeffrey Epstein 42 emails urging him to invest in post-Gaddafi Libya. Brown offered access to TNC leaders, $80 billion in frozen sovereign funds, the Goldman Sachs settlement mandate, and a direct line to Libya's first elected president. Epstein never moved.

The Yemeni Billionaire Who Used Epstein as a Back-Channel

Between 2012 and 2018, Shaher Abdulhak, introduced by Sultan Bin Sulayem as 'the richest Yemeni,' corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein across at least 38 email threads. Epstein brokered a British QC for Abdulhak's son's criminal case, advised on an Ethiopian tobacco monopoly and a Coca-Cola plant bombed by the Saudi coalition, and facilitated shadow diplomacy on Yemen, including a meeting with UN envoy Terje Rod-Larsen and an introduction to Steve Bannon.

EthiopiaSudanSomalia

Nine Years, Four Jurisdictions: How Epstein Tried to Buy a Palace in Marrakech

From 2010 to 2019, Epstein pursued Bin Ennakhil, a palace in Marrakech's Palmeraie, through a chain of Liechtenstein trusts and BVI shell companies. His own lawyers told him to walk away. He sent his girlfriend instead.

Boris Nikolic: How Epstein Built a Back Channel to the Gates Foundation

Between 2009 and 2014, Boris Nikolic appeared in over 350 emails in Epstein's Africa archive. A correspondent asked Epstein to help Nikolic negotiate his job with Bill Gates. Within three years, Gates was personally directing Nikolic to share information with Epstein. By 2013, Nikolic was sending Epstein formal intelligence requests on Nigeria and Pakistan, and Epstein was deploying assets in response. He was named backup executor of Epstein's will.

TanzaniaNigeriaZimbabwe

The Polio Field Reports: What Nasra Hassan Found, and Why Epstein Saw It First

The Gates Foundation paid the International Peace Institute to research barriers to polio eradication in Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. IPI's field researcher, Nasra Hassan, documented ghost vaccination teams, manipulated surveys, communities using polio campaigns as political leverage, and CIA drone strikes derailing negotiations. Her reports, including one marked 'plz pass on to Bill Gates,' traveled through Terje Rød-Larsen to Jeffrey Epstein.

How Epstein Brokered Ariane de Rothschild's Access to the President of Ivory Coast

Between 2013 and 2017, Ariane de Rothschild, vice chair of the Edmond de Rothschild Group, corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein across dozens of emails. Epstein introduced her to Sultan Bin Sulayem, provided a contact list for Ivory Coast and Qatar, offered private access to President Ouattara through his niece Nina Keita, and instructed his financial manager to build a reporting template for the Rothschild family's assets across Mozambique, Cameroon, and Paris.

Ivory CoastMozambiqueSouth AfricaCameroon

Epstein Asked the Head of the Council of Europe to Intervene in the Karim Wade Case

In July 2015, Jeffrey Epstein asked Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whether Karim Wade could bring his Senegalese corruption conviction to the European Court of Human Rights using his French passport. Jagland replied that it should be possible. The correspondence also shows Jagland staying at Epstein's Paris apartment, dining with Bill Gates at Epstein's house, and appearing on Epstein's 'numbers in case of trouble' list months before his arrest.

The Swedish Diplomat Epstein Pointed at Ghislaine Maxwell the Day She Got Her New Job

In November 2012, Lisa Emelia Svensson told Jeffrey Epstein she had been appointed Sweden's Ambassador for Ocean and Water. Epstein's response: 'read up and meet ghisaline.' Svensson asked: 'Who is Ghisaline?' Four years later she moved to Nairobi, started calling herself 'The African,' asked to stay in Epstein's Paris annex, and in March 2019 asked Epstein to help her route private philanthropic funding through an organization that could employ her.

The AI Lab Epstein Never Funded

In May 2014, Epstein's foundation issued a press release claiming it helped launch artificial intelligence in Ethiopia. Three months later, the AI researcher who ran the lab wrote to Epstein's team: the foundation had never funded it. The articles were published anyway.

Deepak Chopra and the Wine of Moroccan Youth

On August 4, 2016, Deepak Chopra wrote to Epstein: 'Only this morning I sniffed the wine of Moroccan youth.' Epstein replied: 'the type of wine that does not get better with age.' The archive shows Epstein hosted Chopra at his home and introduced him to Ehud Barak, Sultan Bin Sulayem, and Jabor Al Thani.

Robert Trivers Sent Epstein a 'Little Ethnic Humour' About Igbo Slaves

In March 2018, evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers sent Epstein a long joke about Igbo slaves being deported from the U.S. to Jamaica. He compared Epstein's physical value to a slave's market price. Trivers was financially supported by Epstein and lunched at his Manhattan townhouse on the same day Ehud Barak visited.

The Clinton Foundation Sent Ghislaine Maxwell the Africa Trip Manifest

In September 2002, the Clinton Foundation's scheduling office emailed Ghislaine Maxwell the full plane manifest for President Clinton's Africa trip, covering Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Mozambique, and South Africa. The manifest excluded Maxwell's own 'package' of travelers. Three months later, the head of Clinton's AIDS initiative wrote directly to Maxwell about progress in Rwanda and Mozambique.

GhanaNigeriaRwandaMozambiqueSouth Africa

David Stern Pitched Epstein as the Bridge Between Chinese Capital and Africa

In late 2011, David Stern proposed an 'African investment vehicle' with Epstein as intermediary between Chinese capital and African governments. He had already pitched a Congo oil company to a Chinese state energy contact 'very confidentially,' and connected a Chinese billionaire with a British-Israeli property mogul over mobile payment technology he called 'perfect for Africa.'

AngolaSouth Africa

How Epstein Brokered JPMorgan's #2 Into Private Meetings With Heads of State

When Jes Staley was promoted to number two at JPMorgan in September 2009, Sultan Bin Sulayem told Epstein: 'Did you see your friend Jes Staley just got promoted.' Epstein replied: 'it was not an accident.' Within months Epstein had arranged a private Sultan-Staley dinner, Staley was invited to meet 14 foreign ministers, and Peter Mandelson was pitching him Congo mining.

Epstein Told Bannon He Was With Mobutu in the 1980s, Then Offered Him Mubarak and Sisi

In February 2018, Epstein told Steve Bannon he had been 'with Mabutu Seko, dictator of Zaire' in the mid-1980s, then sent him a photo of Mobutu. Bannon replied: 'we r on the cusp of real power.' Epstein corrected him: 'You not we.' Five months later, Epstein offered Bannon private access to Mubarak and Sisi in Cairo.

Malabo or Bata: Epstein's Equatorial Guinea Trip Plan

In September 2011 Epstein asked his flight team to plan a 14-leg trip with Equatorial Guinea as the African pivot before flying to his Caribbean island. When the flight desk asked which Equatorial Guinea city, his iPhone autocorrected the answer. Two years later Larry Summers asked him from an African economic forum if he knew the president of Equatorial Guinea, on a list of six African heads of state.

Equatorial Guinea

Eleven Hours in Dakar: Sultan's Pivot from Wade to Macky Sall

After Macky Sall won Senegal's 2012 election, Sultan Bin Sulayem flew to Dakar at dawn, met the new president and prime minister in person, and kept Karim Wade at phone-call distance. Within weeks the Chairman of the Port of Dakar was chasing him for the summary of a bank project Sultan had pitched in the room with Macky.

Bill Conover Offered Epstein "Total Access" to Post-Gaddafi Libya

In late 2011, a Dubai-based fixer named Bill Conover pitched Epstein on post-Gaddafi Libya access and dealmaking. Epstein engaged quickly, calling back the same night and taking a breakfast meeting two weeks later. By March 2012 the thread had advanced to a stronger partner: the Al Otaiba group from Abu Dhabi, who had bankrolled the rebellion.

Sultan briefs Epstein on Kenyatta's regional logistics park

DP World chairman Sultan Bin Sulayem attended Uhuru Kenyatta's 2013 inauguration as a personal guest, then returned in October 2014 to brief Epstein in real time on a three-hour Mombasa meeting that produced a multi-country logistics park serving Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Central African Republic and Rwanda.

KenyaUgandaSouth SudanCentral African RepublicRwanda

Sultan briefs Epstein on his Eritrea, Saudi and Ethiopia tour, six months before the arrest

On January 23, 2019, Sultan Bin Sulayem emailed Jeffrey Epstein from Davos with a four-stop itinerary: Dubai, Eritrea, Jeddah for a DP World agreement signing in the presence of the Saudi crown prince, then Uganda and Tanzania. By that evening he reported back: "Amazing had a great meeting with Ethiopea PM." Six months later Epstein was arrested.

EritreaTanzaniaUgandaEthiopia

Epstein brokered Larry Summers a meeting with Ouattara's finance minister

In October 2014, Epstein pitched Côte d'Ivoire's Goldman Sachs alum Minister of Budget Abdourahmane Cissé directly to former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Summers replied with two questions: 'What does he want to talk about? How corrupt is he?' Nina Keita arranged the meeting in New York. Ten days later Cissé wrote back to Epstein thanking him.

Epstein bridged Greg Wyler, the World Bank and the mobile king of Africa

On the night of September 14, 2014, Greg Wyler, the founder of African satellite-internet venture O3b, asked Epstein for time-sensitive context on a woman who wanted to talk to him that night. Epstein answered the next morning: she worked for the World Bank, knew Africa, and had been with the mobile king. The mobile king is Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese-British billionaire who built Celtel into Africa's largest mobile operator. The woman was Melanie Walker, a Gates Foundation veteran then at the World Bank, married to former Microsoft Windows president Steve Sinofsky.