Daniel Siad and the Brunel Trafficking Network

In July 2005, Daniel Amar Siad emailed Jeffrey Epstein from São Paulo with the subject "hello from Sao-Paulo." Earlier that month he had written from Stockholm. Over the next thirteen years Siad would send hundreds of emails from Paris, Brussels, Bangkok, Ibiza, Sofia, Costa Rica, Dubai, and Cape Town. The subject lines tell the story: "other pics," "Fwd: pictures," "latest pictures done last week," "Here is one of the girls" (vol00009-efta00774129-pdf-0).

Siad's connection to Epstein ran through Jean-Luc Brunel, the French modeling agent later charged with sex trafficking. In January 2010 Siad sent Brunel a SWIFT bank record (EFTA02430885-0). Three days later he emailed both Brunel and Epstein about "Scouting fees." Brunel replied to both: the payment structure was explicit, Siad scouted, Brunel placed, Epstein funded (EFTA02431781-0). In October 2011 Siad wrote directly to Brunel with the subject "Commition de mes 2 filles Chez toi," commission for my two girls at your place. Someone forwarded the chain to Epstein (EFTA01986452-0).

The financial trail ran through Epstein's staff. In January 2010 Siad sent Epstein a document titled "Refference bancaire" (vol00009-efta00765388-pdf-0). In November 2010 he sent "Bank references" (EFTA01360070-0). In January 2017 he sent his Dubai account number; Epstein forwarded it to Richard Kahn, his financial manager (EFTA02664596-0). In May 2017 Siad sent "BANK DETAILS" to Bella Klein, Epstein's assistant, who forwarded them to Marjorie Flash (EFTA01411969-0). In March 2018 Siad sent bank details to Klein again; Klein forwarded them to Epstein directly (EFTA02486549-0).

July 2, 2012. Epstein emailed Shaher Abdulhak, his Yemeni business partner who owned 60 percent of National Tobacco Enterprise Ethiopia, the country's sole cigarette factory: "if you go to ethiopia. my very good friend that owns a modeling agency would love to go. as he thinks there are interesting girls there" (EFTA01873908-0). Four days later Brunel wrote to Epstein from Paris: "NY except if I can go to Ethiopia with you" (EFTA01768711-2).

Shaher travelled to Addis Ababa regularly. In June 2012 he wrote from the Sheraton: "they did not have Wifi and their Internet very bad" (EFTA01882115-1). Epstein warned him to limit who attended: "fewer. don't trust anyone." In March 2014 Shaher was in Addis again, then Sudan, writing to Epstein: "brother cousin enjoying with Beautiful faces sun and blue skies. Poor me" (EFTA01930885-0).

South Africa became Siad's primary territory by 2013. In January he wrote "Hello from Capetown." In February 2014 Epstein asked "any luck" and Siad replied: "Yes I am back to Paris I meet Su and meet several models I did introduce some of them I will follow up to put all the pictures together. The most beautiful girls in the world are there" (EFTA01933167-0).

In March 2014 Siad forwarded a portfolio from Lianne Ready at Pure Management Cape Town for a 20-year-old model. Siad wrote: "the potential of girls is huge and great people" and "I d like to go back to south Africa to scout" (vol00009-efta01196801-pdf-0). Epstein replied "very intersitng" (EFTA01928581-0).

The scouting continued. In March 2015 Siad wrote: "Hello Jeffrey one of my new model that Id like to send to New York." In August 2016: "a girl I found here 20 years old she is just not from this world." In July 2018 Siad forwarded "Hostesses. Part 1" (EFTA02494826-1).

May 2016. Stan Pottinger, a former Assistant Attorney General, forwarded an email titled "Contact Info Daniel Siad (from Brunel)" to Amanda Kramer at the Southern District of New York. In December 2018 Kramer forwarded it to prosecutors Alison Moe and Alexander Rossmiller, the team building the case against Epstein (EFTA01324971-0).

October 3, 2019. Two months after Epstein's arrest. Angela Jackson, a Victim Specialist at the FBI's New York field office, wrote to a colleague: "We are currently working with victims of the Jeffrey Epstein case; and just found out this week that one is located in South Africa. Victim Services Division is hosting a briefing for these victims in New York on October 23rd" (EFTA01650226-0).

The FBI's New York VCAC/Human Trafficking unit wrote to the Johannesburg consular team at the US Embassy in Pretoria: "We have reason to believe that she was an Epstein victim who was recruited in South Africa and traveled to Epstein's residences in New York, Florida, and the Virgin Islands. We were planning to interview her in depth if she was able to attend the conference" (vol00009-efta00152997-pdf-0). She was not a US citizen. She had an eight-month-old son.

Her attorney, Sigrid McCawley of Boies Schiller Flexner, asked the consular team to expedite a passport for the infant: "my client is very interested in coming to NY for the victims meeting on October 23rd but she needs to travel with her infant son who is 8 months old" (vol00009-efta00152997-pdf-4). Whether the visa was expedited and whether she attended the New York briefing is not documented in the archive.