Is Ghislaine Maxwell the most wanted woman on the planet?

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in New York in 2005. Picture: Getty

You won’t find her face peering back at you from the creepy mugshots on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and there are no warrants outstanding for her arrest anywhere on Earth, but former Jeffrey Epstein partner and his alleged procuress, Ghislaine Maxwell is arguably the most wanted person on the planet at the moment.

Like the faces on the FBI’s Most Wanted, there are hints as to where she might be. There have been unconfirmed sightings here and there, hints of couch surfing at a chalet in the French Alps or at a luxurious weekender at Manchester-By-The-Sea in Massachusetts. She may have taken up residence in Israel. She may be in any one of a number of countries that don’t have extradition agreements with the US.

On August 19 last year, the New York Post, published a photo of Maxwell eating al fresco at an In-n-Out Burger franchise in Los Angeles.

It was certainly Maxwell looking gloomily back at the camera, but the photo was most likely staged and served only to create even more mystery about her whereabouts. Maxwell sightings have become almost as intriguing as those of an undead Elvis flipping burgers at a Burger King in Whitesburg, Kentucky or working the Slushie machine at a 7-11 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Someone must know where Ghislaine Maxwell is but they’re not letting on.

Maxwell, 58, holds the key to many of the mysteries surrounding the outrageous criminal behaviour of Jeffrey Epstein, how he was able to commit the offences for as long as he did, and who might have assisted him in the abuse and exploitation of 100 or more teenage girls.

The youngest of nine of failed media baron Robert Maxwell’s children and reportedly the apple of daddy’s eye, Ghislaine Maxwell had her wealthy, privileged life rudely interrupted in 1991 when her father was found drowned off the Canary Islands not far from where the superyacht that bore her name was anchored.

Some weeks later Ghislaine emerged to say she believed her father had been murdered. On this occasion there is no great mystery. Robert Maxwell either fell or threw himself into the Atlantic Ocean. There was no sign of a struggle, no injuries to his body which might be indicative of a struggle. Suicide is the most likely cause with the bailiffs closing in on him and the fraudulent theft of his workers’ superannuation savings about to be disclosed.

Ghislaine left the UK and settled in New York. She had a trust fund her father had established which paid her $US100,000 per annum money. She worked in real estate and actively courted the New York celebrity circuit. From 1993 she was seen on the arm of Epstein.

Maxwell was the entrance ticket Jeffrey Epstein needed to establish his contacts and enhance his reputation with New York money.

Their relationship extended well beyond that of a traditional couple. It is believed Epstein declined to marry Maxwell in 1994 but the two remained together. In a profile of Epstein in Esquire magazine, he described Maxwell as his “best friend”.

From at least 1995, Epstein began procuring teenage girls for sex.

There are numerous victims who allege Maxwell had procured young girls for Epstein and in some cases alleged she engaged in sex with minors in the company of Epstein.

The mystery has some of the world’s most famous people appearing at least in cameo roles, including POTUS number 42 and number 45.

Bill Clinton was known to have flown around the world in Epstein’s private jet. One witness places Clinton as well as the Duke of York on Epstein’s private island, Little St James, in the US Virgin Islands, known to locals as “Pedophile Island”.

Both men deny having set foot on Little St James. Clinton and Prince Andrew maintain they saw nothing untoward at any time while in the company of Jeffrey Epstein.

In a 2002 feature article on Epstein in the New York Magazine, Donald Trump declared, “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

After Epstein’s arrest in New Jersey last year, Trump declared that he had fallen out with Epstein, “around 15 years ago.” There is no evidence to suggest there was any further association between the two men from around 2004.

In 2005, Epstein was the subject of an investigation after a woman reported her 14-year-old stepdaughter had been procured by another teenager to perform sexual acts on Epstein who was then 52.

The investigation went back and forth for more than three years. The local police wanted to charge Epstein with four counts of unlawful sex with minors and one of sexual abuse, but the Florida state prosecutor convened a grand jury, a move that normally occurred in the investigation of serious felonies. The grand jury returned with a recommendation of one charge of solicitation for prostitution. Epstein pleaded not guilty in 2006.

The FBI were called in because some of the allegations made against Epstein related to trafficking and sexual slavery across US state borders and in Europe and in the US Virgin Islands. This led to a 53-page indictment which alleged Epstein and others were involved in sex trafficking. The indictment never saw the light of day.

Instead Epstein took a plea deal which gave him immunity from federal prosecution and extended immunities to four others and unknown others which clearly includes Ghislaine Maxwell. The plea deal was signed off on by Alexander Acosta, then Southern Florida’s District Attorney. Last year, Acosta resigned as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Labor over the sweetheart deal.

Epstein pleaded guilty to a state charge of procuring a minor for prostitution and received an 18-month prison term and some of the softest time anyone might expect. He was housed away from the general prison population and came and went as he pleased.

Ghislaine Maxwell was not seen in public with Epstein after his plea deal and conviction.

From approximately 2016, Maxwell shunned the limelight. There is a trove of photographs of her swanning about with New York’s rich and famous at celebrity shindigs but none from 2016.

She sold her townhouse within walking distance of Epstein’s 70 million Upper East Side mansion for $US4 million in the same year.

Her last public appearances were as the founder of the TerraMar Project, an ocean conservation non-profit which sucked up a lot of her money and featured absurd levels of legal and administrative costs. If it was intended to save the world’s oceans, they would have to be salvaged on the $US874 the non-profit issued in grants in the five years of its existence.

And then when Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre on August 10 last year, Ghislaine Maxwell vanished. TerraMar was shut down. She did have enough front to make a legal claim through her lawyers over a portion of Epstein’s $US576 million estate.

The FBI continues its investigations into Epstein’s crimes but as far as we can tell no indictments have been issued. Legal opinions vary as to whether Maxwell might be charged. Some US attorneys believe conspiracy charges would be difficult to prosecute while others believe the FBI will grimly pursue a range of individuals whose associations with Epstein led to the sex trafficking of minors. Epstein’s plea deal and its almost universal immunities as of 2006, may prevent Maxwell from being charged.

What we have is a mystery that has driven a thousand conspiracy theories and may drive thousands more.

Ghislaine Maxwell is the most wanted woman on the planet because she has information that can unravel the great mystery of the life and death of Jeffrey Epstein. His victims demand justice and we need to know how a criminal psychopath with a truckload of money was able to evade the law for as long as he did and who helped him along the way.