3 months ago
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The “leadership” successful Delhi wanted American financier and enactment offender Jeffery Epstein to link businessman Anil Ambani to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner and Republican strategist Steve Bannon, Mr. Ambani had claimed, according to messages to Epstein successful March 2017, that were released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ). The meetings requested were to person prepared the crushed for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sojourn to the U.S. successful June 2017.
The External Affairs Ministry, which denied comments by Epstein alleging helium assisted connected Mr. Modi’s sojourn to Israel successful July 2017 arsenic “trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal” connected Saturday, did not respond to requests for a remark connected the latest mails astir the U.S. visit.
In addition, Mr. Ambani appears to person met with Epstein connected May 23, 2019, astatine 9.25 a.m., pursuing which Epstein messaged Mr. Bannon that helium had met Prime Minister Modi’s “guy”. Epstein said that the idiosyncratic helium met had complained that “no 1 successful [Washington] speaks to him,” referring to Mr. Modi.
The BJP denied that the messages were successful immoderate mode connected to the government. After a spat betwixt BJP and Congress spokespersons implicit societal media connected Saturday (January 31, 2026), Congress wide caput K.C. Venugopal said successful a station connected Sunday (February 1, 2026) that “the reports of the caller batch of Epstein files are a immense wake-up telephone astir the benignant of monsters who person entree to PM Modi”, demanding that the Prime Minister personally “come clean” connected the issue.
The messages, portion of 3 cardinal pages from hundreds of thousands of heavy redacted documents released by the U.S. DoJ, bespeak a adjacent narration and regular interaction betwixt Mr. Ambani and Epstein betwixt 2017 and 2019, until a fewer months earlier Epstein’s decease successful a New York prison. Mr. Ambani’s bureau did not respond to a elaborate acceptable of questions from The Hindu astir the mails attributed to him, and The Hindu cannot independently verify whether the messages were so sent by Mr. Ambani.
According to a connection sent connected March 16, 2017, Mr. Ambani asked for assistance with meetings successful the U.S. up of a apt sojourn by Mr. Modi implicit the summertime that year. Mr. Ambani said helium had been successful Delhi, and that the “Leadership” would similar Epstein’s assistance truthful helium could conscionable “Jared” (Kushner) and “Steve” (Bannon), “asap” (as soon arsenic possible). According to the chat, the 2 men agreed to talk straight implicit the telephone thereafter. However, Epstein warned that Mr. Kushner and Mr. Bannon, who were portion of the recently sworn successful medication of Mr. Trump during his archetypal statesmanlike tenure (January 2017-2021), were highly busy, gathering “15 radical a day”, and whitethorn not person been capable to person a “meaningful” conversation.
Another acceptable of messages dated March 11 indicated that Mr. Ambani had planned to conscionable Epstein and “Ehud”, believed to beryllium erstwhile Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, for a meal successful Paris astatine the time, but had to cancel the gathering arsenic Mr. Ambani was scheduled to person meal with French President Francois Hollande instead. Mr. Ambani had won the off-set declaration during the acquisition of Rafale combatant jets from France announced during Prime Minister Modi’s sojourn to Paris successful April 2015 and was portion of the concern delegation accompanying Mr. Modi astatine the time, and was understood to person met President Hollande and French officials frequently.
A fig of messages sermon cardinal figures successful Washington that Epstein thinks Mr. Ambani should meet. He besides asks him who the U.S. Ambassadorial nominee should beryllium to, which Mr. Ambani suggested General (retd.) David Petraeus, portion Epstein said that Ashley Tellis, the argumentation expert arrested implicit stolen authoritative documents past year, was successful the moving arsenic U.S. Ambassador to India astatine the clip successful 2017.
