Meet the high-profile Emirati business leader lawmakers are linking to Epstein ‘torture’ email

U.S. officials made new disclosures from the Epstein files on Monday, naming who they believe was the recipient behind a disturbing email sent by the deceased financier and sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, in which he referenced a supposed “torture video.”

That name is Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, one of the Emirates’ most powerful business figures, who, for years, maintained a relationship with Epstein, with the communications often including explicit content, according to documents recently released by the U.S. Justice Department.

The latest revelation comes after Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. reviewed unredacted documents at the Justice Department on Monday.

Massie posted a screenshot of the email on the social media platform X. In the email, Epstein wrote to a redacted recipient: “where are you? Are you ok, I loved the torture video.” The reply stated: “I am in china I will be in the US 2nd week of May.”

Alongside the screenshot, Massie wrote that, “a sultan seems to have sent this,” and called on the DOJ to make the information public.

That caught the attention of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who responded to Massie on X, stating the redaction protected personally identifiable information in an email address. He added that Sulayem’s name appeared unredacted elsewhere in the released files and linked to a document containing his name.

Massie later said Blanche had “tacitly admitted that Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem was the sender of the torture video.”

CNBC sought comment from Sulayem through DP World, where he serves as chairman and CEO, but did not receive a response. Sulayem has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. It is also unclear exactly what the referenced “torture video” was, and whether it had actually been sent from Sulayem to Epstein.

Authorities have stressed that a mention in the Epstein files does not indicate evidence of wrongdoing nor prove that the name was part of a purported client list or blackmail scheme.

However, the email adds yet another thread to a tapestry of years of communications between Sulayem and Epstein, which referenced everything from business deals, politics, to sex.

The Epstein files, especially following the latest releases, have shed new light on how the deceased sex criminal networked and fraternized with influential figures in politics and business.

Yet amongst the many names prominently featured, Sulayem stands out, not only for his level of intimacy with Epstein, but for his importance and sway in both political and global business realms.

In his home city of Dubai, Sulayem is regarded as a leading business figure, coming from one of the Emirate’s main families. His father was an advisor to the ruling Al Maktoum family and Sulayem himself played a key role in the ascendance of Dubai as an economic hub.

Sulayem oversaw the growth of Dubai’s Jebel Ali port into a major deep-water shipping hub and the expansion of DP World into an international logistics empire that now oversees ports handling a tenth of the world’s container trade.

He also led Nakheel Properties, a Dubai government-owned developer behind large artificial island projects, though he was replaced amid a major board restructuring following Dubai World’s debt crisis during the 2008 financial crisis.

His prominent leadership roles made him an important representative of Dubai’s economy amongst both the leadership in the UAE and the international community. Sulayem appeared regularly in international forums, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, often rubbing shoulders with politicians and giving speaking engagements.

However, emails released by the DOJ suggest that Epstein saw a very different side of Sulayem — and in him, a friend and confidant, trusted enough to engage in high-stakes discussions of business and sex.

A search of the name “Sulayem” on the DOJ’s Epstein library yields thousands of results, many of which appear to be email exchanges between the two from around 2007 through 2019, long after the financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.

The DOJ’s file release shows that Epstein once referred to Sulayem as a “close personal friend” he had known for 8 years. He also described Sulayem as one of his most trusted friends in other writings. 

In the world of Epstein, being a trusted friend appeared to have come with private communications regarding topics including but not limited to: arrangements with masseuses; sexual encounters with women; escort and prostitution services; lewd comments and jokes; and pornography.

The two often appeared to be discussing in-person meetings. On several occasions, Sulayem corresponded with Epstein about Little St. James, Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which prosecutors allege was used as a base for sex trafficking.

The Epstein-Sulayem emails also highlight how Epstein often acted as a superconnector and liaison for his rich and powerful confidants.

In one 2014 email, Epstein appeared to invite former Labour cabinet minister Peter Mandelson to join a board of Sulayem’s, writing: “sultan [sic] has asked me to encourage you to join his board.”

The files also appear to show Epstein connecting former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Sulayem via email in 2015. That comes after a report from Drop Site News in January suggested that Epstein had brokered several meetings between Ehud Barak and Sulayem, citing previously released emails.

Ehud Barak has defended his business with Epstein in the past, explaining in 2019 that he believed the businessman had paid his debt to society, and that he himself hadn’t been accused of wrongdoing. 

According to Bloomberg’s viewing of the public files and others obtained by the outlet last summer, Epstein also tried to help connect Sulayem to figures such as an aide to former French President Nicolas Sarkozy; Les Wexner, the retail billionaire and longtime Epstein patron behind Victoria’s Secret; and Jes Staley, who in the late 2000s was a senior executive at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Sarkozy has not publicly addressed alleged ties to Epstein. Wexner said in 2019 that he had previously employed Epstein but was unaware of the illegal conduct for which Epstein was later indicted. In June, Staley failed to overturn a decision by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority that found he had “recklessly” misled regulators in 2019 about the nature of his relationship with Epstein.

CNBC also confirmed that the latest DOJ files include a 2010 email from Epstein to Sulayem, asking him if he wanted to meet Thomas Pritzker, executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels. A representative of Pritzker declined to comment.

In the wake of the global financial crisis in 2009, Epstein sent an email addressing an unidentified “sultan” regarding an apparent investment deal and a payment to be made to Epstein. “Your people should talk to Pritsker,” Epstein wrote, adding that “Hyatt is the =erfect answer to MGM. not Barrrack.”

Epstein may’ve been referring to casino operator MGM Mirage, which Epstein and Sulayem had exchanged articles about. In 2009, Sulayem’s Dubai World had reportedly filed a lawsuit against the MGM Mirage for massive cost overruns.

Epstein also appeared to refer the “sultan” to Pritzker’s Hyatt over “Barrrack.” It is unclear who he was referring to, but private equity real estate investor Thomas Barrack appeared in other Epstein’s emails with Sulayem. 

In a December 2009 email, Epstein sent a couple of emails to Staley regarding investments and a potential meeting, also with an unspecified “sultan.”

Epstein and Sulaymen also shared details of their separate meetings with other prominent figures, notably U.S. President Donald Trump and people within his circle.

The Epstein files indicate Sulayem was invited to Trump’s first presidential inauguration by Thomas Barrack, a U.S. diplomat currently serving as U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria. “Should I accept the invitation,” Sulayem asked Epstein in a January 2017 email.  

Epstein, according to files, was also linked to Steve Bannon, Trump’s former senior adviser and a key architect of his 2016 election victory. 

“We have become friends you will like him,” Epstein said of Bannon to Sulayem in an email in February 2018. “Trump doesn’t like him,” Sulayem replied. “dont belive the press,” responded Epstein.

Bannon has said little publicly about his relationship with Epstein, though he has called for the release of the Epstein files.

DP World did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC on this story, including on whether the company planned to keep Sulayem in his position.

No action has been taken against Sulayem since his messages with Epstein were first published last month.

On Wednesday, Canada’s second-largest pension fund told CNBC it would halt future deals with Dubai’s DP World following the Epstein revelations, saying it had “made it clear to the company that we expect it to shed light on the situation and take the necessary actions.”

It was also not immediately clear whether international institutions with which Sulayem has been involved would respond to the disclosures. For example, Sulayem is listed as an agenda contributor at the World Economic Forum.

DP World, in March 2022, also became a “Champion” of the UN Women HeForShe Alliance, an initiative encouraging men and institutions to support gender equality. Sulayem and DP World had been welcomed into the program to help “spearhead transformative change and allyship to achieve a gender equal world,” a spokesperson said at the time.

Sulayem was quoted as saying: “Becoming a UN Women HeForShe Champion is a great honor, and I feel very humbled to be working alongside such esteemed leaders to accelerate progress toward gender equality.” 

“I believe in not just attracting, developing, and retaining female talent in the trade and logistics industry, but truly focusing on efforts to build a global ecosystem that is equitable and fair for all.”

In a statement to CNBC, a UN Women spokesperson said the group’s past interactions with Sulayem and DPWorld were limited under the initiative, which ended in December 2024. 

“The objective was to influence institutional practices of DP World to positively influence gender norms and promote women’s leadership in a traditionally male-dominated sector … UN Women has no current partnership or collaboration with Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem or DPWorld,” she added.

— CNBC’s Emma Graham and Matthew Chin contributed to this report