Jeffrey Epstein cultivated close ties with West African political elites, forging a relationship with Karim Wade, son of former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade, and Nina Keita, niece of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, according to a review of emails and financial records related to the convicted sex offender released by the US government last month.
Epstein had a close relationship with Karim Wade, who he considered a powerful figure in Africa, and contacts with Nina Keita, who helped connect him to her uncle, according to emails, scheduled meetings, investment projects, and loans interviewed by the AFP news agency
The mention of a person's name in the Epstein files does not in imply wrongdoing, and exchanges with Karim Wade show no link to sex trafficking crimes, but they do reveal a close personal connection and that the two had business ties.
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'Important player'
Nicknamed the "Minister of Heaven and Earth" for the multiple portfolios he held including international cooperation, energy, and air transport, Karim Wade was a powerful figure in Senegal until April 2012, when his father's bid for a third term for President sparked deadly riots.
Epstein described Wade as "one of the most important players in africa".
The two met in 2010 and quickly developed a rapport. After their first meeting in Paris, Epstein wrote on 15 November 2010: "Thanks for coming. I think there are many things to consider... I feel confident that we will have fun".
"Have a safe trip back to your paradise Island," Wade replied.
Epstein put Wade in touch with close contacts, such as Ehud Barak, then Israel's defence minister.
He also put him in touch with Chinese businessman Desmond Shum to discuss "offshore banking”, and the two met in Beijing in May 2011, according to the documents –the same month that Wade planned an tour for Epstein through Senegal, Mali, and Gabon.
Friendship even behind bars
The friendship continued even after Abdoulaye Wade left office. When Senegalese authorities started looking into the family’s assets, Epstein proposed that Karim Wade use his house in Florida, writing: "You and your family are welcome to use my house in palm beach, staff is there, pool etc. you will not suffer".
Numerous files suggest Epstein became financially involved on Karim Wade's behalf after Wade was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to six years in prison for corruption in 2015.
Other files suggest that Epstein covered at least $50,000 in fees for the US lobbying firm Nelson Mullins that Wade's entourage hired to secure his release.
'Pretty girls'
The documents show that Nina Keita was close to both Epstein and Karim Wade, and that she acted as a regular intermediary while Wade was in prison.
Keita also helped put Epstein in contact with her uncle, the president of Cote d’Ivoire, and his team.
When Epstein traveled to Abidjan and met Ouattara in 2012, Keita booked him what she called "ministerial suite" of the luxury Hotel Ivoire.
Ahead of the visit, Epstein had said he hoped to see "very pretty girls there, as well as interesting places".
Keita, a former model, replied: "You will!"
Emails show at least one instance when she sent Epstein photos and the phone number of a young woman who he met at the Ritz hotel in Paris in August 2011.
After the meeting he asked for photos of the woman’s sister. “I prefer under 25,” he wrote to Keita.
Now the deputy general director of an Ivorian petroleum stocks company, Keita appears in a February 2019 will in which Epstein requested that debts owed to him by a number of people be cancelled upon his death.
Epstein was found hanged in his New York jail cell in August 2019 while he was awaiting trial on charges of abusing girls at his Palm Beach home and on his private island in the Caribbean.
(with AFP)
