Zimbabwe is not a big part of the Jeffrey Epstein story, which has captured global media. But, tucked away in the millions of pages released by the US Justice Department are passing references to a powerful minister, the old Mugabe death rumours, currency jokes, and the occasional wild claim. Here are some of the Zimbabwe references in the files:
“You must meet Chombo”
In 2011, one of Epstein’s associates wrote suggesting people Epstein should meet: “Well we should talk soon to figure out how to best do these dinners in order to make them useful to you and get the greatest participation from high quality individuals…I’d suggest that you pay either a $10K honorarium to an individual….”
On the list was Ignatius Chombo, then Zimbabwe’s Local Government Minister, oddly described as “the #2 man in Zimbabwe, runs diamond industry and most of country.” Also listed: Charles Taylor, the former Liberian leader later tried at The Hague, and Saif Qadaffi, who was murdered only this week.
A Zim currency joke
In 2009, a doctor and investor working with the Gates Foundation emailed Epstein: “I manage several different portfolios of Special Projects whose grants/commitments total about $315M. It’s crazy to think about the amount of money. Wow. In November I am doing my annual site visits in Africa (I try to do them all at once, Africa is a tough place to be), and during that time, I will be Mayor of Harare (in Zimbabwe) for a week. I’m excited about that!” Epstein replied, taking a swipe at Zimbabwe’s history of currency woes: “Do you have a metric for success of the philanthropy. Mayor of Harare, sounds great. salary billion dollars a day.”
“Spoke to Blair about Zimbabwe”
In 2010, an associate, Valerie Post, emailed Epstein after meeting Richard Branson in New York. Epstein had asked her to inquire about Branson’s island, near his own. She wrote back: “Spoke to him about Zimbabwe, he didn’t mention his island, it must not need help. Shook hands with Tony (Blair). That’s what did it for me.”
The Zim chat with Chomsky
In 2015, Epstein exchanged emails with academic Noam Chomsky about money and finance, telling him: “If you would design a fair tax system, what goals would you suggest. I’ve been researching how to start a new financial system for Zimbabwe. It’s now so broken it presents a clean petrie dish, exchange rate of a billion billion dollars equals one us dollar.”
“Mugabe is dying”
In 2012, someone identified only as Jonathan wrote to Epstein, spreading one of those “Mugabe death” rumours and excitedly pitching Zimbabwe as an investment play: “Hi Jeffrey, Mugabe is dying in Italy, he is not returning to Zimbabwe, I found a broker there, Lynton Edwards, should I go there or do you know anyone who invests there? They have some great companies if this guy is really done which he is.”
At the time, rumours on Mugabe dying abroad were frequent. Around the time the email was sent, Mugabe was 88, and returned from Singapore after a round of rumours to lead independence celebrations.
“Are you buddies?”
Another associate, Joi Ito, sent Epstein a link about Zimbabwe’s exchange rate. Epstein responded: “we should approach him and provide a new currency/economy”. Ito asked: “You mean Mugabe? Are you buddies?” Epstein replied: “no, but can easily get his attention, Zimbabwe would be a great petrie dish, it’s also supposed to be beautiful.”
Mugabe’s fund manager?
A separate 2017 note in the files claims an FBI source said: “Epstein was President Vladimir Putin’s wealth manager and provided the same service for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.” No evidence is provided to support this claim, which unlikely given other entries in the files. While the US and other western governments imposed a freeze on Mugabe’s assets for decades, none were ever identified.
An associate’s praise
In 2014, Epstein paid for an associate’s first trip to Zimbabwe. The friend later wrote back, delighted: “When I told my parents that I planned to travel to Harare, they were not too excited and sent me quite a few articles about why I should not travel to Zimbabwe. For example, both the Swedish and Finish embassies warn against traveling there due to political unrest, demonstrations, and different diseases (AIDS, malaria, hepatitis A and B, etc). However, when traveling around Zimbabwe and walking around in Harare, mostly alone, I actually felt quite safe. This was also the opinion of other White people who are living there (mostly diplomats or people working at NGOs) to whom I spoke.”
He added: “Mugabe is 92 years old; he will most likely not live another five years, which means that the one appointed vice president the 1st of December might become Zimbabwe’s next president — which indeed will be important for the future of Zimbabwe.”
