FBI agents investigating Jeffrey Epstein over allegations of child prostitution secretly travelled to Sydney in 2011, enlisting the help of Australian federal police to interview an unnamed victim – thought to be Virginia Giuffre – about sex trafficking.
Documents released in the Epstein files also reveal the FBI obtained a copy of the infamous photo of then-prince Andrew, Ghislaine Maxwell and Giuffre during the Sydney visit.
The files also reveal emails from Epstein giving advice to women in Sydney about their CVs and applications for jobs in Australia. In one of the emails, dated 2011, an associate of Epstein told the financier he’d interviewed an Australian woman in Dubai while out “hunting” for candidates to be Epstein’s personal assistant.
What do the documents reveal about Australia’s links to the Epstein investigations?
A woman, whose name is redacted from the archive of documents released by the US Department of Justice, gave an interview to FBI agents about Epstein and Maxwell in 2011 in Sydney; her account echoes Giuffre’s public and legal allegations against the sex traffickers, including in 2008 and 2011 in previous court filings.
The AFP helped deliver an FBI victim notification letter to the woman in 2008, informing her of her US legal rights, according to correspondence between the two agencies. The FBI told AFP agents they were investigating “illegal sexual activity between multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein and minor aged children”.
Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, first publicly made the sex trafficking allegations in 2011, after being interviewed by the FBI in Sydney. She died by suicide in 2025.
In 2011 correspondence between FBI offices in Washington DC and Canberra, it was detailed that the bureau had been asked for assistance by the Palm Beach police department in 2006, with an investigation into allegations Epstein was “procuring underage girls from local high schools to perform massages and sexual acts at his residence”.
“The victims were usually recruited by other underage females and after performing various acts were paid sums of money in the $200-$1000 range,” the briefing note read.
The FBI letter to the victim in Australia, according to correspondence with the AFP, referenced a “Non-Prosecution Agreement” between the US government and Epstein, providing her with the terms of the agreement and FBI contact information.
Earlier that year, Epstein had pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and was sentenced to 18 months jail. Epstein’s later charges in 2019 related to different offences not covered by the non-prosecution agreement.
Letters from the FBI, seeking AFP help, were sent in August and December 2008. An AFP “team leader” replied to say the correspondence to the victim had been delivered in January 2009. An FBI note included in that same batch of documents says the AFP served the letter at a home in Bass Hill, in Sydney’s south-west.
Other documents state that a later interview in 2011 was conducted in Glenning Valley, on the NSW Central Coast. Giuffre has previously stated in court filings that she lived in both suburbs.
An AFP spokesperson declined to comment, saying it was “not a matter for the AFP” and referred inquiries to US authorities.
Giuffre’s family was contacted for comment.
What was the AFP’s involvement in the Epstein investigation?
The AFP assisted in delivering the letter to the victim, based in Sydney, in 2008.
In March 2011, a letter from the US Consulate in Sydney was sent to the coordinator of an AFP team for “International Network Coordination”. It stated a victim had recently contacted the US attorney’s office in Palm Beach to talk to police about “her activities with Epstein” and that two FBI agents from Miami would fly to Sydney to interview the victim at the US consulate in Sydney later that week.
Giuffre had previously outlined her interactions with the FBI in a 2015 court document, which stated she had been contacted in 2008 and interviewed in Sydney in 2011.
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“In 2011, two FBI agents, called me in Australia and then came to meet me. They met me at the U.S. Consulate in Sidney [sic]. They seemed to be very professional and hard working. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, these people will do the right thing against the bad guys and protect me’,” she wrote.
“The agents were mainly focused on Epstein but while there I provided them some information about others who were involved in illegal acts as well.”
After the interview on 17 March, an internal FBI document said the agents were told that “[name redacted] had photos at her residence which could be pertinent” to the issue. The agents then travelled to another address in Glenning Valley, where Giuffre said she lived, to obtain the photos.
An FBI case file states agents received 20 photographs on 17 March 2011, in Glenning Valley.
Among the collection of photographs was a copy of the 2001 photo of Giuffre with Andrew and Maxwell, which Giuffre said was taken by Epstein himself at his New York townhouse. Andrew has previously rubbished the veracity of that image, claiming he had “absolutely no memory” of it, saying: “I don’t believe that photograph was taken in the way that has been suggested.”
The photo included in the FBI file bears words, handwritten in blue pen: “Prince Andrew, [name redacted] (17), Ghislaine Maxwell 2001 (Januray) [sic]”
Other photos obtained from the Glenning Valley trip include images of Epstein’s ranch, named Zorro, in New Mexico – where Epstein abused teenage girls and young women with impunity, according to testimony from several women. Some of those images were later included in Giuffre’s 2015 court document, in which she said she was among those victimised at the ranch.
What do the Epstein files reveal about other women he contacted in Australia?
Other emails published in the Epstein release show the financier emailing with numerous women in Sydney, who appeared to be studying or seeking work in Australian law firms. In some emails, women tell Epstein they have met other attractive women in Australia and have sent him photos.
Many of the emails indicate the women were not from Australia but were visiting the country to study, work or travel.
“I meet lots gorgeous girls here in Sydney... look at the photo of one. she is tall, modelling and acting at the moment, dreams to be an actress. She has background in law, just like me. I want to come to paris this summer and take her with me [sic],” one email to Epstein in May 2012 reads.
“My dearest Jeffrey, great hearing you today!! Do you mind giving your opinion on the cover letter I am about to send to all tha law firms and government organizations in Sydney [sic],” reads another email to Epstein, in 2011, from a woman who says she is about to move to Australia to study corporate law.
Epstein replied: “needs grammar checkk„ the english is poor.” [sic]
Several days later, another email is sent to Epstein – likely from the woman asking for advice on her cover letter – thanking him for his help.
“I sent about 5 letters to lawyers and HR people in australian law firms and=I got two repsonses inviting me for the interview!! WOW, I am Russian with no australian degree, its pretty amazing they consider me,” reads the email to Epstein.
In an October 2012 email, Epstein sent an email to a redacted recipient, claiming: “your job in sydney, has as i warned, made you hard.”
“You are behaving in a very cheap, vulgar, manner. If it is irreparable, we can no longer have contact,” he wrote.
In April 2017, Epstein received an email from a redacted sender about Epstein’s wish to hire a personal assistant – a topic referenced repeatedly in emails. The subject line of the 2017 email reads: “candidate [redacted] (24), australian based in dubai.”
“Dear Jeffrey, Yesterday evening I went candidates hunting out in a nice bar/restaurant and spotted this tall, slim, long blond hair, cute soft face, always smiling Australian lady of 24 years old,” the writer told Epstein.
“Australian passport and 61/82 work visa in USA for 5 years. So I had a personal interview with her for the PA job right there.”
Any reply from Epstein does not appear to be included in the latest file release.
