Dubai, 14 February (H.S.): In a seismic shift at the helm of one of the world's preeminent logistics conglomerates, DP World on Friday announced the abrupt replacement of its long-standing Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, precipitating widespread speculation over the timing's alignment with explosive disclosures from Jeffrey Epstein's files.
The Dubai-based multinational, a cornerstone of global trade infrastructure, unveiled His Excellency Essa Kazim—current Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre and Chairman of Borse Dubai—as the new Chairman of its Board of Directors, alongside Yuvraj Narayan's ascension to Group Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately per a Nasdaq Dubai filing.
This leadership overhaul transpired mere days after British International Investment (BII), the UK's government-owned development finance entity, suspended new investments with DP World on Wednesday, February 11, citing shock at allegations surfacing in the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) recently unsealed Epstein documents pertaining to bin Sulayem.
Bin Sulayem, an Emirati tycoon instrumental in transforming DP World into a logistics powerhouse since assuming CEO duties in 2016 and chairmanship in 2007, emerges prominently—cited over 9,400 times—in DOJ-released files spanning correspondence from 2009 to 2018, post-Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor.
These exchanges, laid bare in January 2026 releases and further scrutinized by U.S. lawmakers Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna on February 9 and 10, unveil a strikingly intimate rapport: bin Sulayem confided salacious details, such as encounters with a Dubai university student yielding the best sex I ever had and Tokyo sexual massages, while Epstein proffered counsel on pursuits like securing UK loan guarantees for a London DP World venture via a September 2009 letter to then-Business Secretary Peter Mandelson.
Compounding the notoriety, a chilling 2009 email surfaced wherein Epstein proclaimed, Loved your torture video, addressed to bin Sulayem—initially redacted but unmasked after Massie and Khanna's review of unredacted files, prompting Khanna's February 10 House floor recitation of implicated names and Massie's X post crediting their disclosures for Friday's resignation.
Epstein, whom bin Sulayem deemed a most trusted friend and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's right hand, facilitated introductions including to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak pre-UAE normalization, alongside multiple visits to Epstein's Caribbean island, site of survivor testimonies of abuse.
DP World's terse statement, disseminated via Dubai's media office, omitted bin Sulayem's name yet swiftly excised his website biography, framing the appointments as bolstering sustainable growth and Dubai's trade hub primacy; BII subsequently hailed the decision on Friday, signaling prospective partnership resumption.
While mere citation in Epstein files implies no wrongdoing, the saga—reignited post-Epstein's 2019 jailhouse demise ruled suicide amid child-trafficking charges—intensifies global scrutiny on elite entanglements with the financier.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
