The extent of Jeffrey Epstein’s contacts with former British cabinet minister Lord Peter Mandelson has been revealed in a newly released report that describes the disgraced financier’s relationship with a politician he knew as “Pete pedicles” met many times.
JPMorgan’s 2019 internal report, filed in a New York court on Tuesday, found that “Jeffrey Epstein appears to have maintained a particularly close relationship” with Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British government.
The bank’s investigation, code-named Project Jeep, was commissioned to uncover JPMorgan’s 15-year relationship with Epstein, involving various meetings and conversations between Epstein and Mandelson.
It suggests that in June 2009, when Mandelson was Britain’s business secretary, he was living in Epstein’s luxurious Manhattan townhouse, and that the financier was jailed for soliciting underage prostitution.
JPMorgan faces two high-profile lawsuits over its decision to keep Epstein’s banking business until 2013. JPMorgan is suing former executive Jess Starley, who for a time was Epstein’s personal banker, accusing him of withholding information. Staley, who continues to lead Barclays, has denied the allegations.
Epstein, the high-profile money manager, was found dead in his prison cell in 2019 – ruled a suicide by hanging – as he awaited trial on new charges of sex trafficking of minors.
Epstein courted influential financial and political figures around the world, with former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump enjoying his hospitality.
Mandelson is a key figure in modern British politics, co-engineering the election-winning “New Labour” alongside former prime minister Tony Blair.
In June 2009, a few months after Mandelson returned to support the struggling government of Blair’s successor, Gordon Brown, he took on the title of “first secretary of state.”
A few days later, Epstein wrote to Staley, his personal banker at JPMorgan at the time: “Well, Peter Mandelson is now deputy prime minister.”
At the time, Epstein was serving 18 months in a private wing of the Palm Beach County Palisades for seducing a young girl. He was released on probation until July 22, 2009.
Even in prison, Epstein maintained regular contact with many of his influential contacts.
In the emails mentioned in the JPMorgan report, Epstein wrote to Staley on June 17 saying: “Peter will be staying at the 71st for the weekend, do you want to organize yourself, or you and Jamie, quietly (sic),, up to you.”
“Jamie” apparently refers to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon; Staley replied to Epstein that if he was in town, he would come, but Dimon was in Asia.
Mandelson declined to confirm or deny that he lived that weekend in Epstein’s $77 million townhouse at 9 East 71st Street on New York’s Upper East Side.
Elsewhere in the email on March 29, 2010, Mandelson, still Secretary of Commerce, messaged Epstein, mentioning an apparent health problem, adding: “Can Jess send me a An email about the Dodds/Volcker issue,” referring to the global financial crisis that ensued with new U.S. banking regulations.
On two subsequent occasions, in November 2010 and January 2011, when Mandelson was no longer in government, Epstein pointed out to Staley that “Petty” was with him in Paris, the financier Own a luxury apartment there.
It’s unclear when Mandelson first met Epstein, although a 2002 New York Magazine report described him attending an intimate dinner at Epstein’s Manhattan home with Donald Trump and other figures.
Last year, photos emerged of Mandelson and Epstein celebrating a birthday at Epstein’s Paris apartment in January 2007. A previous photo from 2005 shows the pair shopping together in the Caribbean.
They were introduced by Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of former Labor MP and tycoon Robert Maxwell. She is currently serving 20 years in prison for assisting Epstein in the sex trafficking of underage girls.
In 2014, Mandelson agreed to become a “founding citizen” of the United States TerraMar projecta non-profit marine conservation organization founded by Ghislaine Maxwell with financial support from Epstein.
A person close to Mandelson said he never had business dealings with Epstein, and that the connection was primarily through Ghislaine: A lot has been sourced, including influential and well-known personalities.”
It was “obvious” that Mandelson was gay and that he would not take advantage of the young women Epstein was recruiting for others, the person said.
A spokesman for fellow Labor said: “Lord Mandelson deeply regrets being introduced to Epstein. The link has been a matter of public record for some time. He has never had any sort of professional relationship with Epstein. or business relationship.”
Mandelson’s deals with the super-rich have long been his Achilles’ heel, forcing him to resign twice in the early days of the new Labor government.
He resigned as cabinet minister in 1998 after news of a secret £373,000 loan to buy a house was revealed, and then resigned in 2001 after being accused of helping one of the Hinduja brothers obtain a passport in exchange for a £1m donation to the government. resigned again. The government’s Millennium Dome project. (he is cleared by query.)
In 2009, the fellow Labor Party apparently visited Epstein’s New York home, and just a year earlier Mandelson was on the coast of Corfu with Rusal billionaire Oleg Deripaska A stay on a luxury yacht in the United States – arranged by banker Nat Rothschild. friend.
Later in the summer of 2009, Mandelson returned to Corfu as a guest of the Rothschilds, where he again sparked controversy, this time with the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The following January, Staley asked Epstein — just months after he was released from prison — if he could help secure a meeting with either Mandelson or Alistair Darling, then chancellor of the exchequer.
Epstein wrote to Staley: “I have arranged for you and Peter to meet my dear in Davos,” he said, referring to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. A few days later, Staley wrote to Epstein saying he had seen “Peter last night. Honey, in 20 minutes. Will speak to Peter again this morning.”
Darling said he did not recall meeting Staley, who was a senior JPMorgan executive at the time, and had no dealings with Epstein. “Why should I?” he asked.
Subsequent exchanges, described in the report, suggest that Staley was interested in some of the assets of RBS’s upcoming Sempra Commodities sale, which the bank was forced to divest following a UK government bailout. A few months later, JPMorgan Chase bought the business for $1.7 billion.
Darling said any meetings on government business would be attended by civil servants and that the Treasury was not involved in RBS operations. People close to Mandelson said he met Staley in Davos to discuss the banking crisis, but Epstein “certainly” did not arrange a meeting.
“Epstein liked to show off his political connections and was clearly doing so to JPMorgan, although Peter didn’t know it at the time,” said a person close to Mandelson.
Other communications unsealed in related lawsuits paint Epstein as an aggressive social climber who often inflates his connections and influence to impress friends and business associates, sometimes pretending to have more in the corridors of power than he actually has influence.
People close to Mandelson noted that during the financial crisis, as commerce secretary, he had “continuous conversations” with bank chiefs.
The emails also offer insight into how Mandelson turned from politics to business after Labor lost the general election on May 6, 2010.
It was not until November 2010 that Mandelson launched his own business, Global Counsel, which has grown into a consulting firm with international influence.
But within days of Labor’s election defeat, his thoughts had turned to business.
On May 27, 2010, he wrote to Epstein: “This is what I was talking to in Shanghai. If you can open the attachment, you will see that the entire China Banking Association is in attendance. If JPM wants to spread its wings in China Goofy, isn’t this the place it should represent?”
Epstein forwarded the message to Staley.
Then in October, Staley forwarded an email from Epstein from Mandelson about his recent trip to Brazzaville, Congo.
“I have had a detailed conversation with President Sassou Nguesso, including the new mine mentioned above. He told me that the exploration work is being carried out by a consortium of investors backed by JPMorgan Chase. The government is making a decision on whether to issue a full mining license. Final decision. I spoke to the Minister of Mines about it.”
Two weeks later, Epstein told Staley that “Petty just got back from Russia.”
On Oct. 27, Staley forwarded an email Epstein had sent to Mandelson that appeared to contain information within JPMorgan about a deal to take Russian companies private. Staley told colleagues: “Please let me know when Lord Mandelson can help.”
Today, Mandelson remains chairman and partner of Global Counsel, which does not publish a list of its clients. He is also seen as an influential figure inside under the current leadership of the Labor Party.