Mumbai: Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani was allegedly in contact with Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The New York Times has reported.
The Indian businessman, however, knew Epstein as a ‘White House insider’ who offered advice ‘as a friend’, when the former’s financial troubles began, it has been reported.
Ambani apparently wanted to understand where India might fit into Donald Trump’s national security strategy when the Republican leader took charge in his first term, exchanges released by the US Department of Justice suggest.
Following this, the two allegedy exchanged hundreds of messages between 2017 and 2019, a review by the NYT found, as reported by NDTV.
“Will need ur guidance on dealing wth white house for india relationship ad defense cooperation,” Ambani wrote to Epstein soon after they connected online. Epstein responded with a promise that he would get Ambani some “inside baseball”.
It has also been reported that Epstein nuggets of information on foreign policy and Trump appointments with Ambani before they became widely known.
“Whether he just got lucky or not, his messages indicated he sought and received accurate information from unnamed people about the White House’s thinking in response to Mr. Ambani’s questions,” the NYT report states.
In one query, Ambani allegedly asked Epstein in March 2017 if David Petraeus, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, would be named US ambassador to India. Epstein said, “I’ll ask.” He later told the Indian tycoon t
hat Petraeus was not on the “front burner”. The role went to Kenneth I Juster that November.
According to the report, Epstein also offered to introduce Ambani to people known to be close to Trump. These included Stephen K Bannon and Thomas J Barrack Jr. Epstein suggested to these two men that they might find it useful to meet Ambani.
There are no allegations of sexual misconduct against Ambani though. The NYT report says he did not respond to a request for comment; neither did Bannon and Barrack.
Ambani and Epstein allegedly spoke over the phone and used encrypted platforms such as Signal and Telegram, where Ambani, 66, went by the handle “Armani A”. These conversations took place years after Epstein served jail time after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.
The two were allegedly connected by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who stepped down as chairman and chief executive of DP World, a Dubai-based ports company, after his ties to Epstein were revealed, the report says.
Ambani communicated frequently with Epstein in 2019 as his business struggled. “Mr. Epstein sent sympathetic messages, telling Mr Ambani to stay ‘mentally strong.’ He repeatedly offered advice, but underscored that he was acting only as a friend,” the NYT report goes on to say.
“No money for me. I have enough,” Epstein wrote on April 20, 2019. He is said to have received an email two weeks later from a sender named Anil that said: “Dear Jeffrey. Transaction done. Will come to say Hello and have coffee.”
Ambani is said to have met Epstein on May 23, 2019, at his Manhattan home. Earlier, Epstein offered to “devote as much time as needed” when the two met, “again, only as a friend.”
Epstein later asked Ambani if he was taking “rest time”. Ambani responded that he was working and Epstein replied with a smiley face “:)”. Epstein was arrested on charges of sex trafficking of minors three days later.