Fresh documents released by US authorities have exposed the extent of Jeffrey Epstein's commercial relationship with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, revealing the convicted sex offender attempted to involve the royal in lucrative China business ventures with JP Morgan.
The 300,000 pages of material, made public by the Department of Justice last week, contain 11 separate mentions of Andrew in correspondence between June 2009 and February 2011.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated the release "sheds light on Epstein's extensive network and begins to provide the public with long overdue accountability."
The files show Epstein, who died in a New York prison cell in August 2019, was actively seeking to leverage his friendship with Andrew for financial gain, particularly in the Chinese market.
US files show Epstein tried to involve Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in China business deals
|GETTY
In correspondence with Jes Staley, then a senior JP Morgan executive, Epstein suggested the former prince was eager to represent the bank's UK investment arm in China.
"Prince Andrew would like much more to represent casanov in china than tim Collins," Epstein wrote to Staley on September 28, 2010, in what is believed to be a reference to JPMorgan Cazenove. Mr Collins heads the American investment firm Ripplewood Holdings.
Weeks after Andrew departed his position as the UK's special representative for international trade and investment in July 2011, Epstein outlined potential business arrangements to Staley.
"There can be a relation with JPM and me. Jpm and a new or current investment boutique . ( Pritsker?, David Stern?, ( prince Andrew? , he is now allowed to make money))," the financier wrote on August 31, 2011.
Epstein died in August 2019 in what was ruled as suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City | GETTYStaley's communications with Epstein revealed the banker's access to China's most powerful figures.
On September 2, 2010, Staley informed Epstein he had secured "the most senior meeting [JP Morgan Chase] has had save for Jamie [Dimon]" with Wang Qishan, a close ally of President Xi who later led China's anti-corruption drive.
Staley also spent nearly two hours with Li Yuanchao, a senior Communist Party official tipped for the Standing Committee.
"I will tell u what he offered/asked when we meet. Very cool. I'm seeing the Prince this afternoon," Staley wrote.
Andrew is now rarely seen in public except on family occasions
| PAEpstein had been advising Staley on navigating Chinese business culture, emphasising the importance of "face-saving" and maintaining good relationships, known as Guangxi, with employees and government officials.
The documents reveal Andrew forwarded a business inquiry to Epstein on December 2, 2010, concerning Aria Petroleum's request for a $200million (£148million) working capital facility. As the company was American, Andrew apparently suggested Epstein connect them with a US bank.
Further correspondence from February 2011 shows Epstein telling Staley that "andrew asked for your london schedule," demonstrating contact between the pair continued well beyond 2010.
This timeline proved significant, as Andrew had previously claimed his relationship with Epstein ended earlier. The revelation that their association persisted ultimately cost him his royal titles and his residence at Royal Lodge.
Maxwell is serving 20 years for procuring underage girls for the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein
| GETTYThe files also document arrangements for Andrew to meet Staley during visits to London, with Epstein vouching for the banker as someone who was "like family, and can be trusted. 100%."
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted associate, disputed the commonly held account of how the financier came to know Andrew.
She described as a "flat untruth" suggestions that she introduced the pair, claiming instead that Epstein first encountered Sarah Ferguson in the Bahamas before meeting Andrew at a property belonging to businesswoman Lynn Forester in either Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket.
Epstein was already conscious of the reputational risks surrounding Andrew by March 2010, writing to Staley: "the English papers want andrews head, , tomorow they will say the fbi investigation wants to talk to him,, its all bull,, but it sells."
Despite such concerns, the relationship continued. In 2013, Andrew hosted Jamie Dimon and JP Morgan clients at a Buckingham Palace reception featuring performances by the Royal Philharmonic and English National Ballet.