Among so much else in the Epstein files, it transpires that the disgraced sexual predator actually pondered moving to Portugal (albeit he seems to have thought this might have been “too high a price to pay…”)
Pay for what exactly, is the explanation left hanging. But Expresso today (and subsequently other media outlets) are intrigued by the Portugal ‘connections’ in the recently released reams of ‘files’ released by the United States’ Department of Justice.
According to Expresso, a number of women in Epstein’s prostitution network travelled to Portugal (staying in hotels in Lisbon and Ponta Delgada) from Moscow, Paris and the United States.
The name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the time (Luís Amado) appears in the files – but he has since told SIC Notícias that any link to Epstein is “ridiculous”, stressing that he “never met” the infamous billionaire.
Another link cited refers to “the Epstein jet, named the Lolita Express” which “used to make technical stops on Santa Maria (island) in the Azores, in 2002 and 2003.
“On board would be various North American political figures, including Bill Clinton.
“A source for the former president has guaranteed that these were work trips for the Clinton Foundation”, Expresso continues.
But perhaps the most curious references to Portugal come in apparent conversations between Epstein and his Swiss banker friend Ariane de Rothschild, in 2014.
According to the files, Ariane de Rothschild “presented the advantages of Portugal, highlighting the beaches, the sun, the fabulous historic locations and the kindness of the Portuguese people”.
Epstein already had a Portuguese housekeeper (Maria Gomes de Melo, who has been talking to the Telegraph, insisting that she never saw anything “improper” involving underage females), and this was a point in the convicted pedophile’s life when moving from the United States would have been an option, Expresso points out. He had served jail time for procuring a child for prostitution: a life in a different country held its allures.
But not enough of them, it seems.
In spite of the enthusiasm for Portugal of Ariane de Rothschild (it was the banker who also extolled the virtues of the NHR programme, that would have allowed the billionaire to live for 10 years without paying tax) Epstein ‘held back’.
He did however follow the news in Portugal – and thus his interest was piqued by the possibility of claiming nationality as a result of the amnesty given to Sephardic Jews.
Again, this appears to have been just an idea that Jeffrey Epstein ‘toyed with’.
SIC adds that “high ranking Portuguese figures in the universe of politics and banking are mentioned in the Epstein files. But a mention does not signify that any of these figures maintained any direct link” with the man whose dealings have become an almost global obsession.
Source material: Expresso / SIC
