Epstein, espionage and Indians in his orbit

There are three sets of Indian personalities who either benefitted or hoped to benefit from Epstein’s largesse, and his political facilitation: seven TIFR scientists, Hardeep Puri and Anil Ambani.

Jeffrey Epstein was not only a convicted paedophile and sex trafficker, but he was also investigated by the Counter-terrorism Division of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

There have been allegations that Epstein was connected to Israeli intelligence services. His method of filming his subjects and keeping a meticulous record of his meetings and exchanges suggests exposure to spy craft. US intelligence saw his network of contacts and activities as a counter-intelligence concern.

That he could retain his links with Israeli and US elite even after his first conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008 suggests that he may have had institutional protection.

There are three sets of Indian personalities who either benefitted or hoped to benefit from Epstein’s largesse, and his political facilitation: a set of seven scientists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) who used a ‘travel fund’ created specifically for them by Epstein; current Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri; and businessman Anil Ambani.

The travel fund of $100,000 for the TIFR scientists — mostly working in cutting-edge theoretical physics areas like string theory, quantum gravity, field theory, and black holes — was set up in 2003 and routed through Harvard University. This was before Epstein came on the radar of US investigating agencies.

Significantly, despite visiting Israel and accepting Epstein’s funds, these scientists remained critical of Israel. They campaigned to exclude Israel’s flag from the 2026 International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics in Mumbai, and signed statements condemning Israel’s humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The episode exposes fragility in India’s academic integrity. Tainted funds can easily enter legitimate institutions, building informal influence. If Epstein’s intelligence links were real, his travel fund cannot be seen as neutral philanthropy.

The case of Hardeep Puri and Anil Ambani is different. Their contact with Epstein took place after he was convicted.

Puri, who was in touch with Epstein in 2014-2015, has clarified that he was operating not on behalf of the Narendra Modi government, but as a former diplomat promoting Digital India. He had, however, already joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in January 2014. Therefore, he was also operating as a BJP member. Although the BJP initially dismissed Epstein’s mentioning of Puri as ‘casual name dropping’, the emails exchanged show a deeper engagement with Epstein, who was effusively praised by Puri in an email saying: “You, my friend, make things happen”.

No diplomat works pro bono, jet‑setting across the US to meet a fixer like Epstein and his friends, including Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, without expectation of benefit. In September 2017, Puri joined Modi’s council of ministers. There is no evidence he used Epstein’s services beyond promoting Digital India, but questions remain. Did he suspect Epstein’s Israeli links? Did he remain part of Epstein’s ‘social capital’ after joining the government? The available documents from the US Department of Justice do not clarify.

Epstein’s documents show Ambani sought his help between 2017 and 2019 to arrange introductions for Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon. Kushner, Donald Trump’s son‑in‑law, was a senior adviser in the White House; Bannon, though ousted in 2017 as Trump’s chief strategist, remained influential.

There is no evidence that Ambani had official sanction from the Modi government to seek Epstein’s help. He appeared to be freelancing to curry favour with Modi’s government. He had already been controversially chosen for the Rafale offset deal in 2016 — a decision former French President François Hollande claimed was pushed by India. The government may have tolerated Ambani’s activities, hoping for benefits without authorisation.

Ambani positioned himself as aligned with Modi’s foreign policy goals vis-à-vis the US and Israel. Epstein eagerly embraced this, presenting Ambani as Modi’s emissary. This signalling occurred in March 2017, just before Modi’s Israel visit in July, which deepened defence and strategic co-operation.

Epstein, in an email to an unidentified individual referred to as ‘Jabor Y’, suggested that he had a role to play in Modi’s Israel visit and his interactions there. He wrote: “The Indian Prime minister (sic) modi took advice. and danced and sang in Israel for the benefit of the US president. they had met a few weeks ago.. IT WORKED”.

It is unclear whether the advice was given by Epstein or by Trump to Modi. On June 26, 2017, about two weeks before visiting Israel, Modi met Trump in Washington DC. However, the opposition political parties have suggested, without any direct evidence, that the ‘advice’ came from Epstein. The Ministry of External Affairs has denied that Epstein had any role and described the email as ‘trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal’.

Ambani not only knowingly relied on a convicted felon and a tainted intermediary but, by meeting Epstein with Israeli business elite like former prime minister Ehud Barak, also potentially opened himself to Mossad surveillance. He also undermined institutional integrity of India’s diplomatic channels, and caused reputational damage to the prime minister.

Based on the documents released, there is no clear public evidence — as of now — that Modi was directly in touch with Epstein or solicited his help. Meanwhile, the correlative conclusions drawn from the Epstein files could seem to be based on claims by a braggart whose stock-in-trade was hyperbolic claims.

The contacts that Puri and Ambani made with Epstein, however, were also fraught with dangers of entanglement with Israeli intelligence networks. There have been several reports exploring Epstein’s link with Israel’s intelligence agencies. Robert Maxwell, Epstein’s partner Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, was a known Mossad asset.

A former senior executive of Israel’s Directorate of Military Intelligence Ari Ben-Menashe told a media outlet in an interview “not only to have met Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, back in the 1980s, but both Epstein and Maxwell were already working with Israeli intelligence during that time period.” Epstein was friends with Barak, and there have been reports that a Mossad operative and Barak’s aide, Yoni Koren, lived at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse for several long stints between 2013 and 2015.

For the record, however, no less than former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett denied this, dismissing the allegations on X saying: “The accusation that Jeffrey Epstein somehow worked for Israel or the Mossad running a blackmail ring is categorically and totally false.”

Whether these conspiracy theories are true or arise from an anti-sematic mindset as Israelis allege, the question is whether or not those Indian figures who dealt with Epstein should have been aware of his possible Israeli intelligence links.

Bharat Bhushan is a New Delhi-based journalist.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH)