‘No connection whatsoever’: Malaysia PM Anwar dismisses Epstein email link
Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was among several world figures – which include billionaire Bill Gates and Britain’s disgraced former prince Andrew – mentioned in a series of Epstein-related materials released by the US Department of Justice.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday (Feb 1) denied any links with parties involved in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein, after the release of US Department of Justice (DOJ) files revealed a 14-year-old email exchange mentioning the prime minister.
“Just today, I found out that some outsider wanted to meet and even ‘dropped’ my name in an e-mail linked to the Epstein case,” Anwar wrote in a Facebook post.
“Thank Allah, as mentioned in that e-mail, it’s been more than a decade, and I have absolutely no connection whatsoever with any of the parties exchanging those e-mails – especially Epstein.”
Anwar was among several world figures – which include billionaire Bill Gates and Britain’s disgraced former prince Andrew – mentioned in a series of Epstein-related materials released by the DOJ on Friday.
A screenshot of the viral email, dated Feb 21, 2012, showed an unknown associate of Epstein inquiring if a meeting should be set up between Anwar and “Jes” to explore potential future benefits for “JPM”, referring to the US bank JP Morgan and Jes Stanley, the company’s investment bank chief executive at the time.
“Should we arrange a private meeting for Jes with Anwar? If he becomes prime minister of Malaysia, he will clean up and it could be a gold mine for JPM,” said the unknown Epstein associate, whose name was redacted by the justice department.
“I know Anwar well, always stayed close to him for many years even though everybody said he’s finished and can never come back. Looks different now," the Epstein associate wrote.
Epstein’s reply to the email suggested a meeting in May that year and asked if Anwar would travel to the US or Europe, and told the associate to dangle the prospects of Hollywood films being made in Malaysia.
“You can tell him that Woody Allen is with me in Paris, and many countries are offering him money to make a movie in their country,” Epstein reportedly added.
Anwar’s response on Sunday came after a demand from opposition Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) youth wing to clarify allegations that the prime minister had interacted - directly or indirectly - with Epstein or any parties named in the documents.
The related documents and correspondence were released by the DOJ as part of transparency efforts into Epstein’s investigation.
In his Facebook post, Anwar also included the hashtag #DoneExplain to indicate that he had addressed the issue.
“Alright, I’m going to continue sightseeing in Johor Bahru,” said Anwar, who added queasy emojis to his post following the mention of Epstein.
