Epstein cast himself as a White House insider to Anil Ambani

The convicted sex offender gave Anil Ambani information on appointments and foreign policy. Some seemed prescient; there was no evidence he was close to the administration.

Anil Ambani, one of India’s most prominent businesspeople, was eager in the early days of the first Trump administration to figure out where India might fit into the new president’s national security strategy. In 2017, that led him to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose fat Rolodex of politicians, diplomats and policymakers allowed him to present himself to Ambani as a White House insider and guide, according to a review by The New York Times of hundreds of messages exchanged by the men over a two-year period.

“Will need ur guidance on dealing wth white house for india relationship ad defense cooperation,” Ambani wrote to Epstein soon after their online introduction, according to exchanges released this year by the US Justice Department. Epstein promised to get him some “inside baseball.”

The exchanges, riddled with typos and shorthand, show the global reach of Epstein and the reputation he had built among the world’s wealthiest people as a power broker able to operate in the shadowy world of back-channel diplomacy. While the line between braggadocio and influence was blurred, Epstein shared with Ambani nuggets of information on foreign policy and Donald Trump appointments before they became widely known.

In March 2017, for example, Ambani asked Epstein if David Petraeus, the former director of the CIA and his preferred candidate for US ambassador to India, would be appointed to the role. “I’ll ask,” Epstein responded. Not long after, Epstein said he had been “told” that Petraeus was not on the “front burner.” The role went to Kenneth I Juster, a business executive and former government official, that November. And in July 2017, Epstein told Ambani that John Bolton, a longtime Republican hawk, would replace Lt Gen H R McMaster as national security adviser. McMaster “was not long for the position” and Bolton was “next,” he wrote. Although hawkish conservatives had called for the general’s ouster that summer, Trump had defended him. But eight months after Epstein’s message, the information proved true: Bolton replaced McMaster.

Epstein also offered to introduce Ambani to individuals known for their proximity to the president, including Steve Bannon and Thomas J Barrack Jr, who served as chair of Trump’s inaugural committee in 2017. Epstein also suggested to the two men that they might find it useful to meet Ambani.

For his part, in India, Ambani presented himself as politically connected and a conduit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. He once wrote that “leadership” had asked for Epstein’s help in arranging meetings for him with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and Bannon.

Ambani did not respond to requests for comment. He has not faced any accusations of criminal or improper behaviour towards women. Bannon and Barrack did not respond to requests for comment. A White House representative directed the Times to recent comments from Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, reiterating Trump’s frequent denial of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Sprinkled among Epstein and Ambani’s discussions of financial arcana and political strategy, rendered in texting patois, were out-of-context references to having “dessert.” Although the digital trail supplies innuendo, it leaves few real clues about the use of the word, which was often mentioned alongside “fun.”

The messages provide a partial view into the dealings between the two men, who also spoke on the phone and used encrypted messaging platforms like Signal and Telegram, where Ambani, 66, went by the handle “Armani A.” Their conversations came years after Epstein was registered as a sex offender, having served jail time after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to a charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

In his exchanges with Epstein, Ambani, the younger brother of Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, appeared to be looking to bolster his global reputation. After their father died without a clear will for the empire he founded, Reliance Industries, their mother in 2005 divvied up the businesses, which ranged from telecommunications to oil refining, between the siblings.

Epstein and Ambani were connected by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who stepped down in February as chair and CEO of DP World, a Dubai-based ports company, after his ties to Epstein were revealed.

Ambani and Epstein’s messages about who would become the next US ambassador to India were some of the earliest conversations they had. Ambani was interested in defence policy because he had landed a parts manufacturing deal in 2016 for Rafale fighter jets. Critics accused the Modi government, which had agreed to buy the jets from France, of favouring Ambani, which it denied.

The US ambassador pick for India was “key” for him, Ambani wrote. He said he wanted a “strong person” like Petraeus “to deal wth” Pakistan and other neighbours. When Epstein told Ambani that Petraeus was an unlikely choice, he said he was told that although “Donald liked him,” the Pentagon was “wary,” adding that his use of “tradecraft email sticks in their craw,” without explaining. During the back-and-forth, Ambani asked Epstein: “Who do u suggest?”

“A tall Swedish blonde woman to make it fun to visit,” the disgraced financier replied within seconds. “Arrange that,” Ambani said. Epstein used the opportunity to ask if there was an actress or model “that represents your proclivity.” He said he would be “of no good” if Ambani liked Meryl Streep.

Ambani replied that he had “better taste,” mentioning that Scarlett Johansson was starring in a movie backed by one of his companies.

The Israel Connection

In 2017, as plans were being made for Modi to visit the US, Trump was already trying to isolate Iran and wanted countries to embrace Israel more. In some messages included in the files, Epstein appeared to advise Ambani that India’s buying more weapons from Israel might make the White House view the country more favourably. “What i am told is that discussions re israel strategy were dominating modi dates,” he wrote on March 29.

Modi travelled to Washington for his first sit-down with Trump in late June. Soon after, he became the first Indian PM to visit Israel, signifying a shift from India’s neutral stance on Middle East politics.

Afterward, Epstein wrote to “Jabor Y” — identified elsewhere in the Epstein files as Jabor Yousef Jassim Al Thani, a businessperson and member of the Qatari royal family — that Qatar should “stop kicking and arguing,” and that it needed to “come out against terrorism.” At the time, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, backed by Trump, had accused Qatar of supporting terrorism because of its friendly relations with Iran and blockaded it. Epstein used Modi as an example, saying that he “took advice” and “danced and sang in Israel” after meeting the US president. “IT WORKED,” he wrote. India agreed to buy weapons and intelligence equipment worth roughly $2 billion that year.

After Modi’s name surfaced in the trove of Epstein documents released in January, India’s External Affairs Ministry called the messages “trashy ruminations of a convicted sex offender.”

Ambani’s aspirations to bolster his recognition on the international stage run through his exchanges with Epstein. When the latter asked him if he belonged to any US think tanks, Ambani bragged about how he was the “only Indian” on the Atlantic Council advisory board, and invited Epstein’s opinions on other organisations. Epstein offered to introduce Ambani to William J Burns, who was then the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Thomas J Pritzker, the chair of the board of trustees at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. (Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corp in February, citing his ties to Epstein. In 2023, Burns said he “deeply” regretted meeting Epstein.)

Epstein also invited Ambani to dinners at his house, where he could mingle with politicians and other leaders. Epstein told Ambani that he had asked Rod-Larsen, who ran the International Peace Institute, to be his “sherpa.” Rod-Larsen stepped down from the think tank in 2020 after his financial ties to Epstein were discovered.

Ambani communicated frequently with Epstein in 2019 as his business struggled; he required a bailout from his brother, Mukesh, to pay $79 million after a court order over an unpaid debt.

Epstein sent sympathetic messages, telling Ambani to stay “mentally strong.” He repeatedly offered advice, but underscored that he was acting only as a friend.

When Ambani asked if Epstein could help raise US corporate financing, the financier suggested options like creating bankruptcy-proof vehicles, but pointed out tax implications.

The messages provide no indication that Ambani offered to pay Epstein for advice, but on April 20, 2019, Epstein wrote: “No money for me. I have enough.” Around two weeks later, Epstein received an email from a sender named Anil. “Dear Jeffrey,” it read. “Transaction done. Will come to say Hello and have coffee.”

In that interaction from early May, Epstein offered to “devote as much time as needed” on May 23, the day of India’s general election results when the two planned to meet in New York, “again, only as a friend.”

Ambani visited Epstein at his Manhattan mansion at 4:30 pm, according to multiple emails, before Modi’s landslide electoral win was announced.

The next day, Epstein suggested to Bannon that he meet Modi, and offered to set up a meeting. Modi’s “guy” had told him that the Indian prime minister’s main challenge was China, he told Bannon, noting the two had a shared interest.

On July 3, 2019, Epstein checked in with Ambani to ask if he was taking “rest time.” When Ambani responded that he was working, Epstein sent an old-school smiley face, “:)”.

Three days later, Epstein was arrested on charges of the sex trafficking of minors.