Peter Mandelson was due to stay at convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s New York townhouse while he was in jail for underage sex crimes, a JPMorgan internal report has alleged.
Lord Mandelson, 69, who served as a minister in both Tony Blair’s and then Gordon Brown’s Labour governments, and was at one time considered the de facto deputy prime minister, is claimed to have held repeat meetings with the disgraced financier. The report claims he was due to stay in his Manhattan home while Epstein was serving time in prison for soliciting prostitution from a girl below age 18.
The 22-page internal report, prepared by JPMorgan Chase after Epstein’s arrest in 2019, also claims that Mandelson was known to the convicted paedophile as ‘Petie’.
The newly released report, filed to a New York court on Tuesday, now lays bare the extent of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.
The company’s report found that ‘Jeffrey Epstein appears to maintain a particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew the Duke of York and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British government.’
The report, codenamed ‘Project Jeep’, found that Epstein repeatedly offered to connect Peter Mandelson as well as then Chancellor Alistair Darling with former JPMorgan executive Jes Staley.
The two continued to mention Mandelson in a string of message exchanges.
At the time, Staley – who left his job as chairman of the investment banking unit of JPMorgan Chase in 2013 – was tasked with managing Epstein’s multimillion-dollar account.
The report suggests that in June 2009 Mandelson, only days after being made Business Secretary, was due to stay at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse while the convicted paedophile was incarcerated in a private wing of Palm Beach County Stockade, Florida.
Epstein is alleged to have written to Staley on June 17, 2009 asking if he would like to meet with Mandelson. The message read: ‘Peter will be staying at 71st over weekend, do you want to organize either you, or you and Jamie,, quiertly [sic],, up to you.’ Epstein appears to be referencing Jamie Dimon, the long-time chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase.
Staley appears to respond to Epstein saying he would if he wasn’t away elsewhere and that Dimon was in Asia.
Another exchange on March 29, 2010 from Mandelson shows the then Business Secretary asking Epstein: ‘Can Jes (Staley) send me email on issues re Dodds/Volcker.’ The reference appears to allude to banking regulations enacted following the global financial crisis.
The string of messages between 2009 and early 2011 continually shows Epstein calling Mandelson ‘Petie’.
In one interaction in January 2010, according to the report, Epstein wrote to Staley seemingly inviting him to meet with Mandelson and Darling at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
‘I’ve set up you and peter to meet in davos with darling,’ Epstein allegedly wrote.
Staley, days later, replied: ‘Peter last night. Darling in 20 minutes. Will talk again with Peter this AM.’
Darling has claimed he has ‘no recollection of meeting Staley’, the Financial Times reported, adding that he denied having dealings with Epstein and questioned: ‘Why would I?’
The document in question involved JPMorgan’s efforts to purchase the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) stake in Sempra Energy and a mining deal in the Congo.
A spokesman for Mandelson said: ‘Lord Mandelson very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein.
‘This connection has been a matter of public record for some time. He never had any kind of professional or business relationship with Epstein in any form.’
