Declassified US court records reveal the African ramifications of Jeffrey Epstein's network. Documents attest to close ties between the American sex offender and individuals close to the Senegalese and Ivorian presidencies.

Beyond his network of wealthy and powerful figures in the Western world, Jeffrey Epstein sought to extend his influence in Africa. The American financier and convicted sex offender maintained close ties with political circles in Senegal and Ivory Coast, according to documents declassified by the US Department of Justice.

Emails, meetings, investment projects, loans: the documents analyzed by AFP attest to a close relationship between Epstein and Karim Wade, son of former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade (2000-2012), as well as with Nina Keita, niece of Ivorian Head of State Alassane Ouattara.

Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, forced to leave the head of the port company Dubai DP World on February 13, 2026 after the revelation of his friendship with Epstein, was behind the first meeting between the financier and Karim Wade, on November 15, 2010 in Paris.

The two men hit it off immediately. "Thanks for coming (...) I'm confident we'll have fun," Epstein wrote. "No doubt (...) welcome back to your paradise island," Karim Wade replied. The exchanges reviewed show no connection to Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes, but numerous discussions about potential business deals in various sectors.

Karim Wade, "one of the most important players" in Africa

In Senegal, then presided over by his father, Karim Wade was, until April 2012, a pillar of power, nicknamed the "Minister of Heaven and Earth" due to his multiple portfolios: international cooperation, air transport, infrastructure, and energy. Jeffrey Epstein saw him as "one of the most important players" in Africa and invited him to meet close contacts, such as Ehud Barak, then Israel's Minister of Defense.

He puts him in contact with a Chinese businessman, Desmond Shum, with whom he advises him to talk about "offshore banking" and whom Karim Wade meets in Beijing on May 9, 2011. The same month, Karim Wade plans for Jeffrey Epstein an African tour linking Senegal, Mali and Gabon.

Senegal, Ivory Coast: How sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sought to expand his network in Africa

Declassified US court records reveal the African ramifications of Jeffrey Epstein's network. Documents attest to close ties between the American sex offender and individuals close to the Senegalese and Ivorian presidencies.

February 26, 2026 at 7:01 AM By TV5MONDE with AFP

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Senegal: Is the trial of Karim Wade a political affair?

Karim Wade, son of the former Senegalese president © AFP

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Beyond his network of wealthy and powerful figures in the Western world, Jeffrey Epstein sought to extend his influence in Africa. The American financier and convicted sex offender maintained close ties with political circles in Senegal and Ivory Coast, according to documents declassified by the US Department of Justice.

Emails, meetings, investment projects, loans: the documents analyzed by AFP attest to a close relationship between Epstein and Karim Wade, son of former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade (2000-2012), as well as with Nina Keita, niece of Ivorian Head of State Alassane Ouattara.

Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, forced to leave the head of the port company Dubai DP World on February 13, 2026 after the revelation of his friendship with Epstein, was behind the first meeting between the financier and Karim Wade, on November 15, 2010 in Paris.

The two men hit it off immediately. "Thanks for coming (...) I'm confident we'll have fun," Epstein wrote. "No doubt (...) welcome back to your paradise island," Karim Wade replied. The exchanges reviewed show no connection to Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes, but numerous discussions about potential business deals in various sectors.

Karim Wade, "one of the most important players" in Africa

In Senegal, then presided over by his father, Karim Wade was, until April 2012, a pillar of power, nicknamed the "Minister of Heaven and Earth" due to his multiple portfolios: international cooperation, air transport, infrastructure, and energy. Jeffrey Epstein saw him as "one of the most important players" in Africa and invited him to meet close contacts, such as Ehud Barak, then Israel's Minister of Defense.

He puts him in contact with a Chinese businessman, Desmond Shum, with whom he advises him to talk about "offshore banking" and whom Karim Wade meets in Beijing on May 9, 2011. The same month, Karim Wade plans for Jeffrey Epstein an African tour linking Senegal, Mali and Gabon.

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The importance of the ties between the two men becomes even more apparent with Karim Wade's reversals of fortune after his father left power in 2012.

In the fall, Jeffrey Epstein invited his "friend," who was under investigation by authorities in Dakar for his wealth, to stay with his family at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence: "You won't want for anything." He offered him advice on how to "stay strong." "Thank you very much, Brother, I really appreciate it," replied Karim Wade.

Two invoices for "fees" totaling $500,000

Numerous documents suggest that Epstein became financially involved in supporting Karim Wade after his arrest in 2013 and his conviction in 2015 to six years in prison for "illicit enrichment".

These include two invoices for "fees" of $500,000 each, sent in May 2014 and July 2015 to an Epstein company by Karim Wade's lawyer, Mohamed Seydou Diagne. When contacted by AFP, Diagne declined to comment.

Other archives suggest that, approached in late 2015 by Karim Wade's entourage, Jeffrey Epstein covered at least $50,000 in fees from an American lobbying firm, Nelson Mullins, tasked with working for his release.

Epstein then regularly corresponded with Robert Crowe, a partner at the firm, who kept him informed of his progress. In mid-June 2016, emails mentioned a possible pardon for Karim Wade by then-Senegalese President Macky Sall. "He told my high-ranking friends at the State Department that he was going to do it. They put pressure on him," wrote Robert Crowe on June 16.

Karim Wade was released from prison on June 24 and went into exile in Qatar, which he credited with efforts to secure his release. Jeffrey Epstein learned of the news from Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and Nina Keita.

Nina Keita, intermediary between Epstein and the Ivorian presidency

Close to both Epstein and Karim Wade, Nina Keita acted as a regular intermediary between them during Wade's imprisonment. Alassane Ouattara's niece also helped connect Epstein with her uncle, President of Ivory Coast since May 2011, and his inner circle. "He thought you were someone very interesting (...) They were all very happy to have you among them," she wrote on January 20, 2012, after the American's visit to Abidjan.

Earlier, Epstein had said he hoped to see "very pretty girls there, and interesting places." "You'll be able to," Nina Keita replied. In a later message, she asked him if he was "interested in visiting the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace," a replica of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome built in Yamoussoukro.

Emails confirm that Nina Keita, a former model, at least once sent photos and contact information of a young woman to Jeffrey Epstein, whom she met in Paris on August 31, 2011, at the Ritz Hotel. "Ask Sadia to send photos of her sister. I prefer them under 25 ," Epstein wrote to Nina Keita after this meeting.

Nina Keita's name also appears in a will of Jeffrey Epstein dated February 2019, among a list of people whose debts to him the sex offender asks to be erased if he were to die.

When contacted by AFP, Nina Keita, currently deputy director general of the Ivorian Petroleum Stock Management Company (Gestoci), and the Ivorian presidency declined to comment. Karim Wade, contacted through his entourage, did not respond to requests for comment. The mention of a person's name in the Epstein case does not necessarily imply wrongdoing.