Disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein paid a £500 deposit to enroll a young woman on an elite Glasgow University-accredited course.
Documents indicate that Epstein arranged the payment in September 2011, three years after being convicted of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute.
Records released by the US Department of Justice and first reported on by Hillhead Review show that Epstein’s office funded a deposit for the Master of Literature in Art, Style and Design.
The course was delivered in London by Christie’s Education, in partnership with the university.
The applicant, a Russian national in her mid-twenties, had previously attended universities in Paris and Moscow.
Documents viewed by The Herald detail an ongoing personal and sexual relationship between the woman and Epstein, whom she described as her “English speaking lover”.
The woman’s identity in the email cache is redacted in some places, and unredacted in others.
As such, The Herald will only identify her as N.
On September 14, 2011, N wrote to Epstein’s longtime personal assistant Lesley Groff to ask for the £500 deposit.
She wrote: “My interview in London was a success and I am now offered a place at Christie’s Education.
To accept the offer I need to pay the deposit of 500 asap. Jeffrey asked me to contact you, in order to organize a bank transfer. The payment details are attached to the mail.”
Groff responded: “I will get off to our accounting dept and have it taken care of right away,” confirming that the money had been transferred in a subsequent message.
Since the release of the so-called “Epstein Files” last year, victims of Epstein’s abuse have described how the financier allegedly used offers of university admission and tuition support to establish influence and financial dependency.
US Congressman Jamie Raskin said in January: “My staff has recently received detailed information from numerous survivors that Mr. Epstein repeatedly lured young women into his network by promising to help them get into colleges and universities, including Columbia University.
“According to these survivors, Mr. Epstein and his co-conspirators promised victims that he would ensure they were admitted to Columbia, then paid for their classes.”
Indeed, correspondence details how Epstein coached N through her application process, providing practical and moral support.
In one message, dated September 13, 2011, Epstein wrote: “You need to decide if you want to start immeidatily or as you are now accepterd, delay it until the next term.
“Congragulations on a new beginging.”
N responds: “Oh yes it is a new beginning!!!! The classes start on the 29th of September so I think I have the time for all the formalities = May be skype tonight?
“P.S: Your dog is so funny, as you are.”
Following a heated exchange with an admissions officer from Christie’s over how late she could begin the course, N emailed Epstein to ask for advice.
He responded: “Careful from the tone of thier letters. they are getting unhappy with you. and will stand in the way of your school. I did not know of this dialouge. that you were having. they are english and narrow. we should speak.”
A Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) issued by the University of Glasgow confirms that N received an official offer for the MLitt course, which was delivered jointly between the university and Christie’s until 2017.
The letter reads: “This programme is of Scottish Certificate and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Level 11,” which signifies the course is at postgraduate level.
The main study address provided is at the university’s Gilmorehill campus in the West End of Glasgow.
£500 of the course fees (£20,500 in total) had already been paid when the CAS was issued on September 28, 2011.
The emails reveal a several year relationship between Epstein and N, detailing liaisons at his Paris apartment and trips to the Louvre and Luxembourg Gardens.
Topics of conversation include discussions about the writing style of Vladimir Nabokov, author of Lolita, as well as the role of harems in the Ottoman Empire.
Around the time of the application, documents show that Groff arranged flights for N between Paris and Moscow, with a booking confirmation showing that $900 dollars was charged to Epstein.
Although N was 25 years old at the time of her relationship with Epstein, then 58, emails suggest that the relationship was not one of equals.
In one email after being accepted onto the course, N wrote: “I want to see my employer tomorrow morning before he leaves and tell him.
“A little bit scared of the future. I know the answer but i need to ask to have forces: You won't abandon me?”
In another, she asks: “Do you think you could Help me to find a job in the Art?”
In a third email, dated in July 2011, N writes: “I continue to discuss with myself, what actually I want to do in my life. I dream of selling art. But to make it on a certain level (otherwise it is not interesting), it is only possible through having a network.”
After weeks of visa complications, including a request for one of Epstein’s companies to provide sponsorship, N informed Christie’s on October 6 2011 that she had “run out of time and would need to delay the programme”.
Read more:
- Questions on Andrew's extradition to US over Epstein files 'entirely hypothetical'
- Epstein files dump pictures show Andrew crouched over woman
- Anas Sarwar: ‘Right’ for Peter Mandelson to leave Labour over Epstein links
It is unclear if N began the course the following year, though emails suggest she was looking for a new job around this time.
Epstein’s final communication with N took place in August 2014, five years before he committed suicide in a Manhattan jail.
He emailed her to ask: “where and how are you”.
There is no recorded response.
Christie's said they could not comment on the matter as it would be a breach of confidentiality.
A University of Glasgow spokesperson also declined to comment, noting the institution did not comment on individual students.
Share