Jeffrey Epstein appears to have secretly bought a second private Caribbean island in 2016 under the guise of a Dubai businessman, The Miami Herald reports. The second island, Great St. James, is located directly across the channel from Epstein’s 72-acre Little St. James property. Epstein wanted to acquire the island, but its owner, Christian Kjaer, one of Denmark’s richest men, did not want to be associated with Epstein due to his status as a registered sex offender. To get around this hurdle, it appears that Epstein made it seem on negotiation documents as though Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, a wealthy Dubai businessman with connections to the Saudi royal family, was purchasing the island—allegedly without Sulayem’s permission, according to emails obtained by the Herald.
The creative real-estate deal was reportedly made possible by a shell company that provided anonymity in the $22.5 million purchase. In untangling Epstein’s mysterious wealth, shell companies have emerged as a favored financial strategy for the billionaire pedophile. The shell company that helped Epstein buy the second island was Great St. Jim, LLC, an anonymous corporation based in the Virgin Islands, the Herald reports. The island’s true ownership was only revealed after the deal was completed, and it wasn’t until Epstein was arrested in July that he was forced to officially declare ownership.
Read it at Miami Herald