UAE tycoon behind “I loved the torture video” email to Epstein
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- Revealed DOJ files reveal Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein for over a decade.
- A previously redacted line, shown in a photograph by Kent Nishimura / Reuters, reads “From Sulayem to Jeffrey” and links to the message “I loved the torture video.”
A photo of a document originally held by Pam Bondi showed a critical unredacted line:
"From Sulayem to Jeffrey"
The image, photographed by Kent Nishimura for Reuters, was later referenced during an interview with Pramila Jayapal.
This line corresponds to a message reading “I loved the torture video.” Lawmakers and investigators have confirmed that “Sulayem” refers to Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman and chief executive of DP World, a global ports and logistics operator.
The correspondence
The files show bin Sulayem exchanged emails with Epstein for more than a decade, including after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. In April 2009, while Epstein was serving an 18-month sentence with work release in Palm Beach, he emailed bin Sulayem:
"Where are you? Are you ok, I loved the torture video."
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Other messages include references to encounters with women and attempts to meet models, with explicit content documented in the released files.
Read more: Members of Congress will have access to unredacted Epstein files: Axios
Public and political ties
Bin Sulayem comes from an influential Emirati family. His father advised Dubai’s royal family, and his brother heads the governing body of Formula One and other motorsports. Bin Sulayem has been pictured with international figures, including Donald Trump at a 2008 Dubai gala, and with British leaders like Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson.
Read more: Trump named over 1 million times in Epstein files, US lawmaker says
DP World, under his leadership since 2007, has grown into one of the world’s largest port operators. It owns British shipping company P&O Ferries, which in 2022 fired 800 seafarers with minimal notice, drawing criticism from the UK government.
Redaction controversy
Representative Ro Khanna, who helped force the Epstein files release, disclosed bin Sulayem’s identity on the House floor. Khanna said the Department of Justice had hidden names “for no apparent reason” and criticized the practice of redacting material, highlighting the scale of potential concealment in the three million pages released.
Other names initially redacted but now identified include billionaire Les Wexner, known for his ties to Epstein through Victoria’s Secret.
Legal status
Neither bin Sulayem nor other figures named in the unredacted files have been accused or convicted of crimes in connection with Epstein. Lawmakers stressed that the files document correspondence, not evidence of wrongdoing.
