Jeffrey Epstein’s network of influence among businessmen, politicians and academics extended to India, with newly released US Justice Department documents showing the disgraced financier spent years cultivating a relationship with a member of one of the country’s wealthiest families.
According to the documents, Epstein exchanged messages with Indian businessman Anil Ambani from early 2017 through 2019, a period that ended just months before federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex trafficking of minors. The communications show the two men discussing global affairs, business matters and women, and making plans to meet in person. In 2017, Epstein also placed orders for several books focused on the Ambani family.
In one message dated March 9, 2017, Ambani wrote, “Who do u suggest.” Epstein replied, “a tall swedish blonde woman , to make it fun to visit.” Ambani responded less than 20 seconds later: “Arrange that.”
Text messages between Ambani and a phone number associated with Epstein also show them discussing plans to meet in Paris later that year, though they missed each other, and exchanging views on the reaction to Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2018, the documents show.
When Ambani said he planned to travel to New York in May 2019, Epstein replied with an invitation to visit. “And if there are some people you would like to meet quietly. Let me know,” Epstein wrote. Assistants later confirmed a meeting between the two men at Epstein’s Upper East Side home in Manhattan, according to the records.
A representative for Ambani declined to comment.
The latest cache of messages provides further insight into the extensive business and social ties Epstein maintained years after pleading guilty in Florida in 2008 to procurement of minors for prostitution. Despite that conviction, he continued to enjoy access to some of the world’s wealthiest individuals and a lavish lifestyle until his arrest on federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019. Epstein later died by apparent suicide while in custody.
A wider reckoning over prominent figures associated with Epstein has engulfed Wall Street, Washington and the legal community, but the documents show his network extended well beyond the United States.
On March 4, 2017, Epstein ordered digital books including Ambani & Sons and Storms in the Sea Wind: Ambani Vs Ambani, according to thousands of emails previously obtained by Bloomberg News. The titles may have provided him insight into the family’s contentious history and elite status.
Anil Ambani, 66, and his brother Mukesh, 68, clashed over control of the family business empire after their father, Dhirubhai Ambani, died in 2002, eventually agreeing to split the conglomerate. Anil Ambani chairs Reliance Group, which operates in India’s infrastructure and power sectors. Mukesh Ambani controls Reliance Industries Ltd., with interests spanning oil refining, petrochemicals, telecommunications, retail and media. He has a net worth of $98.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The brothers’ financial trajectories have sharply diverged over the past decade. Anil Ambani, once a billionaire, has seen nearly all of his wealth eroded in recent years. In 2019, he narrowly avoided a jail sentence when Mukesh Ambani made a last-minute, court-mandated $80 million payment to a vendor suing Anil’s telecom venture over unpaid dues.
Anil Ambani continues to face scrutiny in India. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of India asked federal investigating agencies to expedite a probe into an alleged bank-loan fraud of 400 billion rupees ($4.4 billion) involving Ambani and his companies.
The 2017 messages also show Epstein asking Ambani about his preferences in women. Ambani appeared to reference his connections to the film industry.
“is there an actress or model that represents your proclivity.?” Epstein wrote. “i hope not meryl streep. I will be of no help.”
“Better taste myfriend,” Ambani replied. “Our nxt movie is wth scarlett johansson.”
That year, Johansson starred in Ghost in the Shell, a science fiction film co-produced by Reliance Entertainment.
“I am glad you prefer young blondes to old ones,” Epstein responded.
The messages further illustrate how Epstein referenced one connection to build others. In February 2017, he asked Indian-American spiritual teacher Deepak Chopra whether he knew Anil Ambani. Chopra replied that he did, offering brief impressions of Ambani and his family.
“V rich, V much wanting to be noticed, V celebrity conscious,” Chopra wrote, adding, “Innumerable businesses” and “Brothers don’t get along.”
Epstein also asked businessman Tom Pritzker whether he was closer to Mukesh or Anil Ambani. “Don’t really know either,” Pritzker responded. Epstein separately advised venture capitalist Peter Thiel to get to know Anil Ambani.
A representative for Pritzker declined to comment. Chopra and a representative for Thiel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
After the scheduled May 2019 meeting, Epstein sent Ambani a follow-up message: “today was a treat, nice seeing you.”
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