Epstein served as secret diplomatic bridge between Israel and UAE elites, leaked emails reveal

Jeffrey Epstein played a pivotal role in mentoring United Arab Emirates (UAE) elites and establishing the foundational relationship between Israel and the UAE.

Based on over a decade of private correspondence, the investigative outlet Drop Site has detailed the intimate relationship between Epstein and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the powerful chairman of the Dubai Ports World (DP World) financial empire, who maintains close ties to the UAE’s ruling families.

According to the report, this narrative helps uncover the clandestine background of the Abraham Accords, which were signed a year after Epstein’s death.

DP World plays a significant role in both UAE and Israeli foreign policy. On December 26, 2025, Israel became the first country to recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent state. This surprise diplomatic announcement followed months of public campaigning by Dubai’s DP World, one of Somaliland’s most prominent foreign investors.

At a conference in October, the company’s chairman argued for the recognition of Somaliland, highlighting the hundreds of millions of dollars the firm has invested in the Port of Berbera.

The official recognition of Somaliland strengthens the UAE’s logistics hub in Berbera. Meanwhile, Israel is reportedly constructing a military base in the region to protect its maritime interests in the Red Sea from drone and missile attacks launched by the Yemeni resistance.

The strategic move in Somaliland marks a new chapter in the deepening relations between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi. Over the final two decades of his life, American financier Jeffrey Epstein served as an informal diplomatic bridge between Israel and the Emirates through Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chairman of DP World and a close friend of the ruler of Dubai.

Epstein showed great interest in DP World, which controls the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) in Dubai—a vital logistics hub for trade passing through the Persian Gulf and one of the world’s largest container terminal operators.

JAFZA is the foreign port most frequently visited by the US Navy, and the US maintains more vessels in UAE ports than in any other ports outside the US.

In 2009, after serving his first prison sentence for child prostitution offenses, Epstein boasted of his relationship with the “owner of the Djibouti deep-water port in the Horn of Africa, a smuggler’s paradise.” At the time, the Port of Djibouti was DP World’s largest container terminal in Africa. Epstein claimed his relationship with Sulayem was so close that he was “essentially in charge” of the port.

While Epstein’s comments about the port sounded like hyperbolic boasting, his claim of a close friendship with Sulayem has now been corroborated by emails released by the House Oversight Committee, a US federal court case, and the hacked inbox of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

The conversations reveal that Epstein shared an extraordinarily close bond with Sulayem from at least 2006 until his death in 2019. This timeframe aligns with the dates of the emails obtained from a leaked Yahoo! account.

Epstein was a trusted friend and advisor to Sulayem, but his network appeared to span all levels of the UAE’s ruling class. A journalist who visited Epstein in 2013 noted a photograph displayed in the foyer of his New York mansion showing Epstein alongside Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, both dressed in beachwear and snorkeling gear.

In early 2006, the UAE leadership felt “humiliated” when US politicians blocked DP World’s acquisition of six major US ports, turning the proposal into a massive national security scandal.

After the company was forced to withdraw, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, vowed that the country would never be caught off guard in Washington again.

Following the scandal, as DP World withdrew from its US operations, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem emailed Jeffrey Epstein to arrange a meeting in New York in November 2006. Epstein looked forward to the meeting, urging Sulayem to “come sooner.” The following year, Sulayem was appointed chairman of DP World to lead the company’s international expansion and stabilize its relations with Washington.

Beyond business, Epstein and Sulayem shared a close personal relationship. In November 2007, a few months after Epstein was charged with sexual abuse in Florida, he told Sulayem he had heard a “funny story” from a woman they both knew. Sulayem replied: “Yes, after several attempts over a few months, we managed to meet in New York. There is a misunderstanding; she wanted a JOB! I just WANTED A WOMAN!” Epstein responded: “Thank God there are still people like you.”

In early 2007, while advising on DP World’s anticipated initial public offering (IPO), Epstein reviewed unpublished English translations of a book written by Dubai’s ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which Sulayem had sent to him. Epstein provided feedback on the translation to ensure the book would be better received abroad.

The pair remained in regular contact, discussing business strategies, organizing meetings with high-level business and political leaders, and arranging vacations at Epstein’s private island, Little St. James.

Following an enjoyable trip together in March 2007, Epstein wrote to Sulayem:

“I hope you had fun; I am happy to count you as a friend. You are the only person I’ve met who is as crazy as I am.”

After Epstein’s death, the Miami Herald discovered that the neighboring island, Great St. James, had been purchased in 2016 in Sulayem’s name. An aide to Sulayem told the newspaper that he had not given Epstein permission to use his name on the property deed. The island was later sold to a private investment firm.

Following Epstein’s return to public life in 2010, a second set of emails from Ehud Barak’s hacked inbox shows that the relationship between Epstein and Sulayem continued to flourish as Epstein launched a concerted effort to strengthen ties between elites in Israel and the UAE.

In the mid-2010s, Epstein arranged several meetings between Barak and Sulayem, presenting them as an opportunity for Barak to get closer to the ruler of Dubai and promote Israel’s diplomatic and security interests abroad. On June 18, 2013, Epstein wrote to Barak: “I think you should meet. He is Maktoum’s right hand.”

The relationship brokered by Epstein continued to evolve. On August 5, 2018, Sulayem sent Epstein an email regarding Carbyne, an Israeli cybersecurity company funded by Epstein and chaired by Barak. The technology allows emergency responders and security services to receive precise location data and live video/audio streams from phones.

In his message to Epstein and Barak, Sulayem informed the financier that he planned to invest in the company and had discussed with Carbyne’s founder, Amir Elichai, how the technology could be used for “Dubai 911” and personnel security at ports operated by DP World.

Epstein forwarded an email from Elichai, a senior member of Israel’s Unit 8200 signal intelligence unit, suggesting Sulayem’s participation in Carbyne’s Series B funding round that year. Peter Thiel also invested in the round after meeting with Epstein and Barak.

While Epstein helped Barak establish relationships with high-level security officials in Mongolia, he also introduced Barak and Elichai to one of Thiel’s venture capital funds. These discussions culminated in a formal security agreement between Israel and Mongolia in 2017, which included the integration of Carbyne into Mongolian emergency services.

Drop Site could not confirm whether Carbyne was ultimately utilized in Dubai or in DP World-linked port operations. However, subsequent public reports indicate that UAE investors became rapidly involved with Carbyne following the normalization of relations under the 2020 Abraham Accords.

In 2009, Epstein introduced Sulayem to his friend Jes Staley, then the CEO of JPMorgan. The goal was to strengthen JPMorgan’s position in the Persian Gulf, where the royal family had long preferred Swiss banks.