DAKAR, Senegal — Newly released files from the US Department of Justice reveal that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein cultivated ties with influential figures in Senegal and the Ivory Coast, expanding his global network into West Africa.
Documents reviewed by AFP detail Epstein’s close relationship with Karim Wade, son of former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade. The files also point to connections with Nina Keita, niece of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
According to the documents, Wade and Epstein met in 2010 through Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, then chief executive of DP World. Emails show the pair developed a rapport soon after their first meeting in Paris.
“Thanks for coming. I think there are many things to consider… I feel confident that we will have fun,” Epstein wrote to Wade on November 15, 2010. Wade replied: “Have a safe trip back to your paradise Island.”
While the exchanges reviewed do not link Wade to Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes, they reveal discussions around potential ventures in finance and energy. Epstein described Wade as “one of the most important players in Africa” and introduced him to prominent contacts, including former Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak and Chinese businessman Desmond Shum to explore offshore banking prospects.
The documents show Shum and Wade met in Beijing on May 9, 2011. That same month, Wade planned an African tour for Epstein through Senegal, Mali, and Gabon.
Epstein’s support appeared to intensify after Wade’s political fortunes shifted. Following Abdoulaye Wade’s departure from office in 2012 and Karim Wade’s subsequent legal troubles, Epstein offered him use of his Florida residence. “You and your family are welcome to use my house in Palm Beach… you will not suffer,” Epstein wrote.
Karim Wade was arrested in 2013 and sentenced in 2015 to six years in prison for corruption. Files indicate that invoices totalling $1 million were sent by Wade’s lawyer, Mohamed Seydou Diagne, to one of Epstein’s companies. Additional correspondence suggests Epstein covered at least $50,000 in fees for US lobbying firm Nelson Mullins, which sought to secure Wade’s release.
In a June 16, 2016, email exchange between Epstein and a partner at the firm, the discussion centred on whether the Senegalese president Macky Sall would grant a pardon. Wade was released on June 24, 2016, and later went into exile in Qatar.
The files also show Nina Keita acted as an intermediary while Wade was imprisoned and facilitated contact between Epstein and senior Ivorian officials. After a 2012 visit to Abidjan, she wrote that her uncle, President Ouattara, considered Epstein “a very interesting person.”
Emails indicate Keita arranged accommodation for Epstein at the Hotel Ivoire and introduced him to a young woman he later met in Paris. In one message, Epstein requested photos of another woman, stating he preferred someone “under 25.”
Keita, now deputy general director of state petroleum storage firm GESTOCI, was named in a 2019 will drafted by Epstein, which requested cancellation of certain debts owed to him upon his death.
AFP reported that requests for comment from Keita, the Ivorian presidency, and Karim Wade went unanswered. Legal experts note that appearance in the Epstein files does not in itself imply criminal wrongdoing.
Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The latest disclosures underscore the breadth of his international network and renew scrutiny of political and business figures who engaged with him prior to his arrest.
