Ghislaine Maxwell moved assets to husband to protect wealth from alleged Epstein victims
Ghislaine Maxwell transferred her assets to isolate most of her wealth from claims lodged by alleged Jeffery Epstein victims.
Ghislaine Maxwell transferred all her assets to her husband after they married in a move that could protect most of her wealth from any claims lodged by alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein.
Her husband, Scott Borgerson, described the British socialite as a “loving person” as he appealed to a judge to approve a $US28.5m ($37.8m) bail package.
The plea came as new allegations emerged about the Duke of York’s links with Epstein and a claim that the prince attended an “orgy” involving nine girls on the financier’s private island.
Ms Maxwell, 58, who is in a New York jail awaiting trial on charges of recruiting three teenage girls for Epstein, revealed details of her finances in a bail application.
She denies all allegations of wrongdoing. She secretly married Mr Borgerson, 44, in 2016. They have agreed to a $US22.5m bail bond with five additional bonds totalling $US5m co-signed by seven of Ms Maxwell’s close friends and family whose names are redacted in court papers.
A security specialist has pledged a further $US1m toward the bail package and will provide armed security for Ms Maxwell if released. The family members are reported to include her brothers. Two of her brothers, Ian and Kevin, were cleared of conspiring with their father, the media tycoon Robert Maxwell, to defraud the pension fund of Mirror Group Newspapers.
Ms Maxwell’s financial manoeuvring protects much of her wealth from damages claims from women who allege she procured underage girls for Epstein.
Four of the charges against her relate to the years 1994 to 1997, when prosecutors claim she helped Epstein groom teenage girls. The other two charges are allegations of perjury in 2016. She faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted after the trial to begin in July.
Mr Borgerson, a technology entrepreneur, said in a letter to the court: “I have never witnessed anything close to inappropriate with Ghislaine. The Ghislaine I know is a wonderful and loving person. I believe Ghislaine had nothing to do with Epstein’s crimes.”
Ms Maxwell’s lawyers said in a statement to the court: “She wants nothing more than to remain in this country to fight the allegations against her.”
The application for bail came as it was reported that Ms Maxwell made arrangements for the Duke of York and a Scotland Yard protection officer to visit to Epstein’s private island where he allegedly held sex parties in 2001.
The Daily Mail reported that the duke “tore up longstanding official travel arrangements” involving Buckingham Palace and delayed the start of a family holiday with his former wife and their daughters so he could travel to Little St James Island. A spokeswoman for the Duke of York, who has denied any wrongdoing, declined to comment about the allegations.
The Times
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