Epstein pitched ‘many opportunities’ in post-coup Ukraine to Rothschild exec
Convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein discussed potential business opportunities in Ukraine following the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev, newly released documents show. He discussed the matter with Ariane de Rothschild, head of the Swiss private banking firm Edmond de Rothschild Group.
Last week, the US Department of Justice released its additional batch of Epstein-related files. Among them is a March 2014 email exchange in which de Rothschild said she wanted to discuss Ukraine in an upcoming meeting. Epstein’s reply stated: “ukraine upheaval should provide many opportunites , many [sic].”
Earlier document releases highlighted business ties between the two. In 2015, after de Rothschild became CEO of the group, she negotiated a $25 million contract with Epstein for “risk analysis and the application and use of certain algorithms” for the bank. In 2013, he asked for her help in hiring a female personal assistant, whom he said should be “multilingual, organized.”
Epstein also put de Rothschild, who married into the Swiss banking family in 1999, in touch with Kathryn Ruemmler, a Goldman Sachs partner and former White House counsel under President Barack Obama. Ruemmler’s firm was subsequently hired to advise the group on US regulatory matters.
The 2014 Maidan mass protests resulted in a coup that ousted President Viktor Yanukovich. Members of the Obama administration helped fuel the unrest and to select officials for the new Ukrainian government. The toppling of Yanukovich violated a German- and French-mediated de-escalation deal and set Ukraine on a path toward conflict with Russia.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a child for prostitution and received a “sweetheart deal,” which many attribute to his elite connections and possible intelligence ties. However, he was arrested again in 2019 and charged with sex trafficking, and died in a prison cell while awaiting trial in what authorities called a suicide.
