NEW YORK – During the period of the economic crisis, financier Jeffrey Epstein was paying attention the Greek economy, as revealed by emails he sent at the time.
Among the 3.5 million documents related to the Epstein case that were released by the U.S. Department of Justice, there is an email from July 2015, immediately after the resignation of Yanis Varoufakis from his post as Greece’s Minister of Finance.
The French banker Ariane de Rothschild sent a message to Epstein, writing:
“It is being strongly said that Alexis Tsipras wanted the ‘head’ of Yanis Varoufakis and he got it.
The replacement by chief negotiator Euclid Tsakalotos is considered a given.
This move gives Tsipras political time and changes the climate toward the partners, without immediately changing the framework of the negotiation.
Tomorrow a Eurozone Summit is convened and in Brussels the expectation is being cultivated that a solution will be sought there, even if temporary.”
Epstein replied:
“The resignation of the Greek minister presents Greece with a tougher problem, not an easier one. Now they will be asked to come with a solution. Not with proposals. Now they have really f@@@ed it.”
The emails show a systematic monitoring of the Greek economy. One day before the European rescue plan for the euro was announced, on May 10, 2010, Lord Mandelson (former British minister and former European commissioner) informed Epstein of its existence via email.
In February 2011, Paul Barrett of JPMorgan suggested to Epstein the purchase of Greek government bonds (GGBs) maturing in 2018, which at the time were trading at 67.75, with a yield of 11.20%.
Epstein replied tersely, “remind me next week,” indicating that he was seriously considering speculating on Greek debt.
The emails reveal intense activity around Greek assets, with Epstein constantly receiving and requesting updates on investment opportunities.
In communication with then-New York Times journalist Landon Thomas Jr. in December 2014, Epstein sarcastically commented that Apple’s returns were better than those of Greek stocks. However, a few years later, Thomas Jr. sent him another message to remind him that he was wrong not to invest sufficiently in Greek assets. Landon Thomas Jr. left the New York Times in 2019, not under the best circumstances.
In June 2014, Nav Gupta of Deutsche Bank sent Epstein an analysis of Alpha Bank warrants, arguing that they were the best way to bet on a Greek recovery. The correspondence also involved Richard Kahn, a close associate of Epstein, who was informed about the creation of a local (passenger) account in Greece, necessary to carry out such transactions.
Epstein’s interest was not only economic but also deeply political. In communication with Giorgos Mantzavinos (then head of Alvarez & Marsal Greece; he later left the firm and died prematurely in 2023) in March 2016, Epstein asked bluntly:
“Do you think Greece will leave the euro?”
The late G. Mantzavinos replied by analyzing the condition of the systemic banks, where non-performing loans (NPLs) had reached 42-45%, and noted that if Kyriakos Mitsotakis were to become prime minister, the probability of a Grexit would be significantly reduced.
Source: www.powergame.gr