DP World Chief Resigns Over Epstein Ties as Investors Freeze Partnerships

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, one of the Middle East’s most prominent business figures, resigned on Friday as chairman and chief executive of DP World, the Dubai-based logistics giant that claims to handle about 10 percent of global container trade .

The departure came after mounting pressure from international investors and legislators following the publication of declassified US Department of Justice documents that revealed years of correspondence between bin Sulayem and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein .

Dubai’s ruler issued a decree appointing Essa Kazim, currently governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, as the new chairman, while Yuvraj Narayan, a two-decade company veteran who most recently served as deputy CEO, was named group chief executive .

The Dubai government’s statement made no mention of bin Sulayem or the circumstances of his departure .

The declassified files showed the pair had exchanged messages for years before and after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution . The correspondence included discussions about deals and references to bin Sulayem visiting Epstein’s private island while sharing contacts in business and politics .

Among the most disturbing revelations, bin Sulayem’s email address featured in a correspondence in which Epstein remarked, according to the files, that he had enjoyed a so-called torture video . The two men also shared comments about women, with bin Sulayem writing to Epstein in 2015 about a young woman he described in explicitly sexual terms .

US Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat, identified bin Sulayem by name in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, along with five others whose identities had been redacted from the documents, accusing the government of shielding their names for no apparent reason . Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who had inspected unredacted files, confirmed that the justice department appeared to link bin Sulayem to the correspondence about the video .

While the files referenced by Khanna did not appear to implicate bin Sulayem in any specific crimes, the revelations triggered swift financial consequences .

Two of DP World’s largest international partners moved to distance themselves from the company earlier this week. British International Investment, the UK’s development finance agency, and La Caisse, Canada’s second-largest pension fund that had invested $2.5 billion in DP World’s flagship UAE assets in 2022, both announced they would suspend all new investment with the group .

On Friday, both organisations reversed course following the leadership change. British International Investment said it welcomed the decision and looked forward to continuing its partnership to advance the development of key African trading ports . La Caisse said the company had taken appropriate measures and that it would move quickly to work with DP World’s new leadership .

Bin Sulayem had been one of Dubai’s most powerful figures, transforming DP World from an operator of the emirate’s Jebel Ali port into a global logistics empire operating more than 60 ports and terminals worldwide over more than four decades . His brother, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, serves as head of the FIA, the body that governs Formula One and other motor sport championships .

DP World also owns P&O, the ports and ferries operator it acquired for 3.3 billion pounds in 2006, a business that drew controversy in 2022 when it fired 800 staff and replaced them with cheaper agency workers .

The resignation makes bin Sulayem one of the highest-profile executives globally to lose their position over the Epstein files. On Thursday, Kathy Ruemmler, the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and a former White House counsel to Barack Obama, also announced her resignation after emails showing a close relationship with Epstein were published. Ruemmler had referred to the sex offender as her so-called Uncle Jeffrey .

The rapid leadership change at DP World reflects the widening corporate fallout from the Epstein document releases, which have forced institutions around the world to reckon with the financier’s extensive network of contacts among business and political elites. For DP World, the question now is whether new leadership can restore investor confidence in a company whose global reach makes it a critical node in international supply chains.