Newly released materials from the U.S. Department of Justice reveal that Ariane de Rothschild, the chief executive of the family-owned Edmond de Rothschild private bank, maintained recurring personal contact with Jeffrey Epstein over a period of about five years prior to his 2019 arrest and detention. The documents include email exchanges and references to multiple arrangements to meet, including at Epstein's residences in New York and Paris.
The Justice Department files, published online, show repeated correspondence in which the two scheduled meetings and exchanged messages that include personal invitations. One exchange dated March 19, 2019 - roughly four months before Epstein's arrest - records him informing de Rothschild that he was in Paris. She replied: "Are you really ?!! I’m here as well. When would you be free?" Epstein responded, "its been much much too long," and they planned to meet the following day. The records do not confirm whether that meeting, or other arranged meetings, actually took place.
In 2016 messages, de Rothschild told Epstein she was ill with the flu and would not be staying with an individual she identified only as "B." Epstein's reply included an invitation to stay at his apartment: "...it would be private. no one the wiser". De Rothschild declined the offer, saying she would stay with another person who would "play my mom," and describing "B" as "a disaster" whom she was "tired of handling." The email thread also shows interactions conducted via assistants, with one assistant in 2016 arranging the return of a hoverboard to de Rothschild's daughter.
The correspondence spans the mid- to late-2010s and contains a mix of personal notes and arrangements. In 2015, for example, the two exchanged messages about candles de Rothschild had helped create. Epstein wrote, "Candles??? Can’t wait to smell. Thanks." De Rothschild replied, "Your favorite mathematical formula is written on it and the smell is made for you only. It fits with your island." The files also include a 2018 email from de Rothschild saying, "incredible sunrise this mrng" as they arranged to speak over a weekend following her arrival in Paris.
The released materials do not appear to contain evidence indicating criminal conduct by de Rothschild. The documents do, however, intensify scrutiny of previously stated characterizations of the relationship between the bank executive and Epstein. Bank officials have described Epstein as a business acquaintance of de Rothschild from 2013 to 2019. A spokesperson for the bank said de Rothschild had no knowledge of Epstein's conduct and "unequivocally condemns his behaviour and the crimes which he committed." The spokesperson did not provide comment on specific exchanges contained in the files.
Epstein's known criminal record and later charges are part of the context made explicit in the released records. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl and served 13 months in a Florida jail. In July 2019, federal prosecutors charged him with sex trafficking of minors, alleging the sexual exploitation and abuse of dozens of girls in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005; he entered a plea of not guilty to those charges. Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, at age 66.
The newly available Justice Department search database lists more than 4,400 instances in which de Rothschild's name appears. Many entries are duplicate references to the same messages or documents; the review of a sample of files shows a clustering of communications in the latter half of the 2010s.
The publication of these documents follows pressure from victims and members of Congress for broader disclosure of materials connected to Epstein. The revelation of previously unreported familiarity between Epstein and a senior banking executive places de Rothschild among a growing number of prominent individuals identified in the social network revealed by the files.
De Rothschild, now 60, became CEO of Geneva-based Edmond de Rothschild in 2023. The bank, which is family-owned, oversees 184 billion Swiss francs in assets. Her husband, Benjamin de Rothschild, who led the family institution prior to her appointment, died in 2021.
Some of the emails released carry de Rothschild's signature, though portions of the documents are redacted and her email address is partially blacked out. The Justice Department's release was described by Todd Blanche, the U.S. deputy attorney general, as marking the end of the prior administration's actions under a statute that called for Epstein-related files to be made public.
The files reference Epstein's private Caribbean island in an exchange linking the scent of a candle to "your island," and that property has been described in other materials as an alleged site of sex trafficking of underage girls. The current disclosures in the Justice Department database do not add new charges against de Rothschild or indicate she was involved in illegal activity.
Financial market readers may note the currency conversion included with the materials: $1 equals 0.7769 Swiss francs, consistent with the valuation presented alongside the bank's assets.
Summary
Justice Department documents show Ariane de Rothschild and Jeffrey Epstein exchanged emails and arranged multiple meetings over about five years prior to Epstein's 2019 arrest. The files do not present evidence of criminal wrongdoing by de Rothschild, but they deepen public questions about the nature of her relationship with Epstein. The bank describes Epstein as a business acquaintance from 2013 to 2019 and states that de Rothschild condemned his crimes and had no knowledge of them.
Key points
- Documents show repeated personal correspondence and meeting arrangements between de Rothschild and Jeffrey Epstein during the mid- to late-2010s - sectors affected: private banking, wealth management.
- The Justice Department files themselves do not indicate criminal behavior by de Rothschild, but they have prompted further public scrutiny and reputational considerations for the bank - sectors affected: banking, asset management.
- The bank has framed Epstein as a business acquaintance from 2013 to 2019 and says de Rothschild had no knowledge of his crimes; portions of the released records are redacted and many entries duplicate the same emails - sectors affected: legal, compliance.
Risks and uncertainties
- Reputational risk for Edmond de Rothschild due to the disclosure of recurring contact between its CEO and Jeffrey Epstein; this could influence client perceptions in private banking and wealth management.
- Incomplete public record in the released files - redactions and duplicate references make it unclear in some instances whether scheduled meetings took place, leaving unanswered questions about the full extent and purpose of the relationship - sectors affected: legal and compliance reviews.
- Potential for further scrutiny or inquiry driven by public and regulatory interest given the broader disclosures of Epstein-related documents; this could mean heightened legal and media attention for individuals and institutions linked by the records - sectors affected: legal, regulatory oversight.
Tags: banking, Epstein, privatebank, reputation, legal