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

On June 30, 2011, Gregory Brown emailed Jeffrey Epstein a detailed proposal to support Libya's Transitional National Council. The ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi the day before. Brown's pitch framed humanitarian aid as an investment opportunity: the TNC would provide "sovereign guarantees in the form of cash or crude oil" to anyone who helped. "More than US$80 billion in Libyan government assets and cash have been frozen outside of the country, including $32.4 billion frozen in the United States," he wrote. The real selling point came at the end. The TNC planned "an immediate $100 billion rebuilding for the country.... and friends who help now, will be placed in front of the queue" (vol00009-efta00913890-pdf-0).

Epstein did not move. Two weeks later, on July 16, Brown tried again. The U.S. had just recognized the TNC and unfrozen $30 billion in Libyan assets. "If you had moved when I suggested a month ago, today we would be taking partial credit for this success and helping them move much of this $30 Billion into safer places under the TNC's control, not to mention making tens of millions of dollars in fees," Brown wrote (EFTA01995819-0). Epstein replied: "not simple" (EFTA01859055-0). Brown pushed back: "what you and I don't know, we can find and end up being their go-to guys and make hundreds of millions if not billions in the process." Epstein's next message ignored the pitch entirely: "Stop into blanc blu say hello to Victoria" (EFTA01796007-0).

Gaddafi fell in August 2011. Brown's emails accelerated. On August 24, he asked if Epstein had "any oil services companies that would like to go into Libya to help them rebuild the country's crude oil/natural gas production and port facilities" (EFTA01987351-0). The same day, a second email: any telecom companies interested in rebuilding Libya's cellular infrastructure (EFTA02024641-0)? On September 3, Brown sent a summary of the Paris Summit on Libya, where sixty countries had gathered. Epstein responded: "ii was there." Brown's reply: "I know" (EFTA01853841-0, EFTA02022692-0). Brown forwarded the frozen $53 billion Libyan Investment Authority portfolio details, the LIA's $5 billion in Africa losses, and Reuters coverage of the oil race. Epstein did not respond to any of them.

On October 4, 2011, Brown revealed his closest contact inside the TNC. He told Epstein he had wanted to bring Fadel Hshad, Senior Advisor to interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, to New York to meet him. "At my (and Dr. Fadi Noah) urging, he is also the guy who is being given the mandate from the TNC (signed by Dr. Ali Tarhouni, Minister of Finance), to negotiate a settlement with Goldman." Goldman Sachs had lost $1.3 billion of the Libyan Investment Authority's money. Hshad held the mandate to negotiate. Brown offered to bring him to NYC the following week "to start the process" (vol00009-efta00920407-pdf-0).

In August 2012, Brown's ally Dr. Muhammad Al Magariaf was elected head of Libya's General National Congress, making him the country's first post-Gaddafi leader. Brown emailed Epstein the news. Epstein wrote back: "lets see him in new york" (vol00009-efta00940617-pdf-0). Brown replied: "Remember, Dr. Al Magariaf is the guy who I introduced you at the UN reception last June and he was the guy that I wanted you to bring to New York last September for the opening of the UN General Assembly. You were too busy my friend and we loss our advantage because the big guys will be offering him everything now that he is Libya's first democratically elected President." He proposed a "unique selling proposition that separates us with the pack" (vol00009-efta00713082-pdf-0).

By March 2013, the Goldman opportunity had passed. Brown emailed: "Not only did Libya's Sovereign Wealth Fund lose $1.3 billion with Goldman Sachs, it also lost $1 billion with Soc Gen I wonder how many more? We blew this opportunity" (EFTA01902481-0).

Three months later, on June 9, 2013, Brown sent Epstein a full prospectus. The document listed almost $100 billion in frozen sovereign funds still awaiting release, refineries to build, ports to develop, a "Rockefeller Center/Century City signature mixed-use" complex for Benghazi, and hospitals, schools, airports, and affordable housing. Brown proposed using former President Magariaf, who had just resigned and was "unshackled to pursue private sector projects," as the in-country partner. "Libya is rich and needs everything," Brown wrote. "Hospitals, Factories, Housing, Schools, Ports, Airports, Roads, Electrical grid. Telecommunications. Office buildings, Commercial centers. Warehouses. Sanitation. And most of all jobs" (vol00009-efta00962613-pdf-0).

The archive contains no reply from Epstein to the June 2013 prospectus. Brown sent 42 emails over two years. Libya's first elected president had been introduced at a UN reception Brown organized. The Goldman Sachs mandate had been offered. The country's entire reconstruction budget was on the table. Epstein never invested.