Epstein connected billionaire Leon Black to be subpoenaed in Epstein investigation
There seems to be some movement on the Epstein pedo sex trafficking ring investigations. One of Epsteins long time relationships is being subpoenaed by the Virgin Islands. Or at lest that's the word around the camp fire.
The NYT reports billionaire investor Leon Black, founder of Apollo Global Management, was friends with Epstein for decades. Epstein even served as a director on the Leon Black Family Foundation for over 10 years. One of Black's charities even donated $10 million to one of Epstein's foundations.
Black claims to have known nothing about Epstein's sex trafficking ring. He can't claim he didn't know about the pedo activities though. After Epstein got out of prison for pedo charges that were whitewashed down to basically a year of house arrest, Black met with Epstein in New York. One of Black's business associates, Marc Rowan, also met with Epstein and reps from the Edmond de Rothschild Group.
US Virgin Islands attorney general Denise N. George advised the local court of coming subpoenas agaisnt Black and some of his companies.
The subpoenas, copies of which were filed with the court, seek financial statements and tax returns for a number of entities, including Black Family Partners and Elysium Management, which oversee some of Mr. Black’s $9 billion fortune. Subpoenas will also go to Apollo and entities that help manage Mr. Black’s extensive art collection.
Mr. Black has said Mr. Epstein provided him with advice on tax strategy, estate planning and philanthropy, but has provided no details. A representative for Mr. Black said the financier had no further comment.
Mr. Black and his companies paid millions in fees to Southern Trust Company, which Mr. Epstein set up in the Virgin Islands in 2013, according to three people briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Ms. George is apparently going after some banks in the search for unraveling the tangled web of Epstein's finances and influence.
The requests represent a significant step in Ms. George’s efforts to unravel the mystery of how Mr. Epstein amassed an estate valued at more than $600 million. They are part of a civil forfeiture suit she filed against his estate in January, claiming Mr. Epstein had misled government officials in the Virgin Islands to secure lucrative tax breaks for his businesses while engaging in sex trafficking and the abuse of underage girls.
Ms. George has also sent subpoenas to banks that handled Mr. Epstein’s money, including JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank. Some of the payment information involving Mr. Black surfaced during a review by Deutsche Bank, according to one of the people briefed on the matter. Deutsche Bank recently reached a settlement with regulators in New York who found the bank had done little to vet Mr. Epstein’s financial dealings.
Epstein had quite the network of connections built up over the years. Mega banks and wealthy bloodline families. When money is to be made, it's easy to ignore who you're doing business with or even how it's being done.