HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe has been named in newly released Jeffrey Epstein files, with emails suggesting the disgraced US financier once floated the idea of engaging Mugabe on plans to introduce a new Zimbabwean currency.
The documents, part of the latest tranche released by the US Department of Justice, include a 2015 email exchange between Epstein and Japanese entrepreneur Joichi “Joi” Ito.
In the correspondence, Epstein proposed approaching Mugabe to help Zimbabwe replace its collapsed currency following years of hyperinflation.
At the time, Zimbabwe had abandoned its local dollar and was grappling with economic instability.
In one email, with the subject line “fertile land for exploration”, Epstein suggested Zimbabwe could serve as a testing ground for financial experiments.
When Ito asked whether Epstein was personally close to Mugabe, Epstein replied that while they were not friends, he could “easily get his attention,” describing the country as a potential “petri dish”.
Separate FBI documents from 2017, also included in the release, contain unverified claims from a “human confidential source” alleging that Epstein acted as a wealth manager for both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mugabe.
The documents stress that the claims were not independently verified.
Being named in the Epstein files does not imply wrongdoing.
The BBC has sought comment from the Mugabe family, while the FBI has been contacted for clarification, particularly because Epstein would have breached US sanctions had he conducted financial business with Mugabe.
Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s independence leader and long-serving president, was placed under US sanctions in 2003, barring American citizens and firms from financial dealings with him.
He died in September 2019 at the age of 95, two years after being removed from power in a military-backed coup.
Epstein, a well-connected financier, was found dead in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. He had previously been convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from a minor.
The files also reference other inaccurate information about Mugabe. An April 2012 email wrongly claimed the former leader was on his deathbed in Italy.
Mugabe, then 88, returned days later from Singapore and publicly led independence celebrations.
One of Mugabe’s former allies, speaking anonymously, told the BBC the errors suggested some of the information circulating about the ex-president was fabricated.
Zimbabwe, still governed by Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party, has struggled with inflation for decades.
While multiple attempts to revive a local currency failed, authorities introduced a gold-backed unit known as the ZiG two years ago, helping stabilise the economy after an initially turbulent rollout — though the US dollar remains widely used.
