Dubai: The United Arab Emirates has been rocked by revelations and fallout after the release of a trove of documents linked to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The files show that the chairman and chief executive officer of Dubai-based logistics giant DP World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, exchanged hundreds of emails with Epstein over many years. In a move that took immediate effect last Friday, the disclosure has led to Sulayem stepping down from his leadership role at the company.
DP World, which runs port terminals across six continents, announced that Sulayem had resigned and one Essa Kazim would replace him. The company also removed Sulayem’s photograph from its official website. The shake‑up comes as pressure has grown on the company from business partners and investors since the Epstein files surfaced.
Last week, Britain’s Development Finance Agency and Canada’s second‑largest pension fund, La Caisse, both said they were suspending new investments in DP World. In addition, the Prince of Wales’s environmental initiative, the Earthshot Project, which had funding ties to DP World, reported the matter to the UK Charity Commission after the files became public. Despite the uproar, legal experts are stressing that inclusion in the Epstein documents does not by itself prove any crime.
The emails released in the Epstein files paint a picture of a long‑standing and personal connection between Sulayem and Epstein that began as early as 2007. The messages suggest that the two men became close over time, sharing travel plans, business advice and news articles with each other. Sometimes, they exchanged crude jokes. One message from June 2013 quotes Epstein describing Sulayem as “one of my most trusted friends”, and some discussions even touched on business ideas such as launching a digital currency in Dubai.
The correspondence also reveals that Sulayem sought Epstein’s input on personal matters, including health issues affecting his family. Records indicate the email exchange continued at least until 2017, well after Epstein’s 2008 criminal conviction in the United States for a sex offence involving a minor.
Some of the emails that have been shared publicly reference discussions about women, though the full context of those messages is not always clear.
In one message from 2013, Sulayem wrote about two women arriving to meet him, commenting on their appearance in terms that showed personal preference. In later correspondence from 2017, he mentioned a “new 22‑year‑old Uzbek girlfriend”, and Epstein replied with a remark about her age based on her passport. The files also suggest that Sulayem, who has been married and once had two wives, occasionally sent crude and racially insensitive jokes to Epstein.
Beyond personal exchanges, the documents show that Epstein acted as an informal intermediary in business relationships. One series of emails indicates he encouraged a British government official, then serving as business secretary, to treat Sulayem favourably as DP World sought permission to operate the London Gateway port.
The messages seem to show Epstein drafting letters and sharing private email addresses to facilitate connections, though it is unclear whether these efforts had any direct impact on official decisions.
Some messages include references to Sulayem hosting the British royalty. A note from 2016 quotes him telling Epstein that he had welcomed Prince William to London Gateway and later attended a Buckingham Palace event with him, to which Epstein simply replied “fun”.
The files also point to Epstein introducing Sulayem to high‑profile personalities in politics and business, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and former US Political Adviser Steve Bannon. In several exchanges, Sulayem seemed to communicate directly with these people with Epstein copied into the emails.
Other documents suggest that Epstein offered to introduce Sulayem to various African heads of state, including leaders from Kenya, Senegal, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, although it is not clear whether any meetings took place. The messages include an exchange in which Sulayem asked Epstein whether he should accept an invitation to Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2017 and whether he might meet the president there.
In earlier correspondence from 2013, Sulayem mentioned being invited by Prince Andrew to a lunch in honour of the UAE president.
In separate messages, both men discussed plans for trips to Epstein’s private residence in New York or his estate in the US Virgin Islands. Their communication covered even routine arrangements such as sharing international travel plans with one another, revealing a long and unusually intertwined relationship that has now thrust DP World and its former leader into an international spotlight.
