For Jeffrey Epstein it was a moment for quiet satisfaction, a chance to show off his new friend. The occasion was a charity pro-am tennis match in February 2000, and the great and good of Florida society were out in strength. The friend introduced himself as Andrew York but that fooled no one. Epstein, a Wall Street financier, self-made adviser to billionaires and collector of important people, had bagged himself a member of the British Royal family.
Eleven years later, and the friendship between Epstein and the Duke of York appeared undimmed. The fourth in line to the throne was a house guest of the American in New York as recently as December, when the two were photographed strolling through Central Park. The fact that Epstein is a convicted sex offender with an industrial-scale appetite for young girls appeared not to offend the Duke, who has been only too ready to accept his hospitality. Even to the extent of accepting massages at Epstein’s home in Palm Beach, Florida, scene of lurid happenings involving girls recruited locally to serve as “erotic masseurs”. There is, however, no suggestion that the Duke was involved in any form of sexual exploitation.
One of those girls, Virginia Roberts, has this week lifted the lid on life in the Epstein zoo, describing how, at the age of 17, she was flown to London to meet the Duke, spending time with him alone after a night on the town. In a civil claim filed against Epstein in Florida – one of a dozen claims by alleged victims settled out of court – she describes how, from the age of 15, she was “continually exploited to satisfy [Epstein’s]) every sexual whim” and “sexually exploited by [Epstein’s] male peers, including royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen and other professional or personal acquaintances.”
Andrew, not exactly the sharpest knife in the royal drawer, enjoys a reputation for collecting the wrong kind of friend, be it a Kazakh oligarch accused of corruption or a Libyan businessman convicted of smuggling a machinegun. But his relationship with Epstein, judged by the State of New York to be a Level 3 sex offender, meaning that he is a continuing “threat to public safety”, promises damage on a bigger scale.
“You or I would spot somebody like Epstein and his habits and run a mile,” says a former royal aide. “But Andrew just doesn’t see it. He sees himself as above it all. Perhaps he doesn’t care. He is the worst combination of arrogance and stupidity. He seems to think the respect people have for the institution is respect for him.”
The Duke’s network of friends may span continents but they enjoy one thing in common: money. Some were met during his travels as Britain’s roving ambassador for trade and investment, a job he has held since 2001 and another source of vulnerability. He makes much of the fact that the role is unpaid when justifying the large amount of taxpayers’ money spent ferrying him and his retinue around the world.
Less emphasis is placed on the personal benefits that have accrued to him, particularly in regard to Sunninghill Park, his former marital home near Windsor. The Duke is said by a diplomatic source to have used an official trip to the Persian Gulf in 2005 to push the sale of Sunninghill, with the blessing of the Foreign Office. The disclosure, following on from revelations about his relationship with Epstein, has prompted the Labour MP Chris Bryant to call for his resignation from the ambassadorial role.
Epstein, 58, was introduced to the Duke by Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of the late mega-fraudster Robert Maxwell and a friend of Andrew and his wife, Sarah, Duchess of York. Following her father’s suicide, Miss Maxwell turned her attentions to New York, where she became a fixture on the social scene. A one-time partner of Epstein, she remained close to him after their parting and, according to witnesses, played a key role in organising, and sometimes participating in, his secret sexual life.
Born in Coney Island, the son of an official in the local parks department, Epstein was talent-spotted while working as a teacher and recruited to the investment bank Bear Stearns. In 1982 he decided to go it alone, building an offshore business supervising the assets of billionaires. The developer Donald Trump, law professor Alan Dershowitz and former president Bill Clinton were counted among his circle. Epstein may or may not be a billionaire himself, but he is certainly very rich, owning the biggest house in Manhattan, a ranch in New Mexico and houses in Palm Beach, London and Paris.
In 2005, the mother of a 14-year-old girl contacted the police in Palm Beach, alleging that her daughter had been molested by a local man. The resulting investigation, which involved the FBI, uncovered a world in which girls, some poor and vulnerable, were recruited to satisfy the needs of Epstein and certain friends.
Miss Roberts was recruited by Miss Maxwell while working as country-club changing room assistant, and spent the next four years supplying him with sex. She described being flown to various locations to service the needs of men of widely differing ages, including a head of state. Her encounter with Andrew occurred in early 2001. After dinner in London with Epstein and Miss Maxwell, she and the Duke were said to have been left alone. Buckingham Palace says the Duke denies absolutely that anything improper occurred.
Giving evidence in a videoed deposition, Juan Alessi, a former employee at Epstein’s home in Palm Beach, said the Duke visited the house four or five times a year, enjoying daily massages during his stays.
Describing a constantly changing cast of characters, including European models, Mr Alessi observed: “Miss Maxwell was the one that recruits. I remember one occasion or two occasions she would say to me: 'Juan, give me a list of all the spas in Palm Beach County.’ And I will drive her from one to the other one. And she will go in, drop business cards, and she come out. She will recruit the girls.”
On June 30, 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to “felony, solicitation of prostitution and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution”. In doing so, he escaped charges, including statutory rape, that could have resulted in a life sentence. In return for Epstein pleading guilty to the lesser charge, the authorities also agreed not to prosecute alleged conspirators. Sentenced to 18 months in jail and house arrest for a year, Epstein will be registered as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
Lawyers for his victims have been appalled at such leniency. From October 2008, he was allowed out to his Palm Beach office for 16 hours a day, and was released in July 2009. One of the lawyer for the victims told The Telegraph: “The deal stinks to high heaven but the mechanics of how it was arrived at, we’re still looking at.”
A royal source said yesterday that the Duke had severed his connections with Mr Epstein. “There is recognition that the December visit [to Epstein] was a mistake and I think you’ll find that there will be no repetition of that visit. In regard to Miss Roberts, the Duke denies absolutely that anything improper occurred.”
Questions concerning the Duke’s fitness to serve as trade ambassador remain however, not least in regard to Sunninghill. The Duke, who receives £249,000 a year from the Queen and a £20,000 naval pension, may earn nothing as trade ambassador but his ambassadorial globe-trotting does not come cheap. He and his entourage cost the government body UK Trade and Investment £154,000 in hotel and other bills in the 2009-10 financial year. Travel costs are met from the travel grant paid by the Government to the Royal family. Last year, flights by the Duke and his staff, using mostly chartered aircraft, cost the taxpayer £475,000; and that does not include trips costing less than £10,000. He made 12 trips to 19 countries in 2009-10.
A former British diplomat with experience of the Duke describes how in 2005 he used a visit to the Persian Gulf to hawk Sunninghill, which he had left in 2004. “His [Andrew’s] private secretary was under no illusions that they were going to mention it during meetings in the Gulf,” says the ex-diplomat. “They had got clearance from head of the Foreign Office to do so. He was, as everybody knows, desperate to sell this Sunninghill place and obviously you don’t miss an opportunity when you are going round the so-called 'rich Gulfies’.
“There are formal meetings but also private chats with the king or crown prince et cetera, so presumably he would have raised it himself. I know it was on the agenda because the staff talked about it. It just came up in conversation that, 'You know, one thing we’re doing is having to talk about his property while we are here. We have special permission.’ The Permanent Under-Secretary had exceptionally given permission for this issue to be raised.”
In 2007, Kazakhstan, another of the Duke’s happy hunting grounds, came to the rescue. Timur Kulibayev, the billionaire son-in-law of the Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and a friend of the Duke, bought Sunninghill for £15 million, £3 million above the asking price.
Considering how much he paid for the decaying pile, Mr Kulibayev seems to be in no hurry to enjoy it. Ben Hindle, of Bracknell Forest Council, said: “At present, there are no pending planning applications at Sunninghill Park and to our knowledge, the house is still uninhabited. After writing to the owners raising concerns, new security systems were put in place and since then, we have had not further matters arise.”
Still, the Duke pocketed a tidy sum. “He keeps saying 'I’m doing this for Britain’ and 'I’m not being paid’ but it’s the cost of the trips – they are phenomenal,” says the diplomat. “Not just the staff who go with him but the recce visits that go on ad nauseam, even to places he visits regularly.
“When Charles or the Queen goes, there is very little so-called down time. Everything is scheduled. But with Andrew there is this whole grey area outside official engagements. On one occasion he actually brought a financial adviser with him. She attended lots of meetings and we never knew what her role was.”
One former royal aide is even less complimentary. “I’ve seen him treat his staff in a shocking, appalling, way. He’s been incredibly rude to his personal protection officers, literally throwing things on the ground and demanding they 'f------ pick them up’. No social graces at all. Sure, if you’re a lady with blonde hair and big boobs, then I bet he’s utterly charming.”
Or rich.
