Limassol port operator ousted as chairman as Epstein files fuel fallout

Dubai-based logistics group DP World, which operates the port of Limassol, replaced its chairman and chief executive on Friday, following leaked disclosures in the recently released Epstein files.

Dubai authorities announced that Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem had resigned with immediate effect, ending his tenure at the helm of the state-backed company.

He has been replaced by Essa Kazim as chairman and Yuvraj Narayan as chief executive.

The announcement made no reference to bin Sulayem or to the reasons behind his departure.

The leadership change follows the release by the US Department of Justice of millions of documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, which revealed years of correspondence between Epstein and bin Sulayem.

The material includes explicit personal exchanges, references to escorts and masseuses, and discussions of sexual encounters. US authorities have stressed that inclusion in the files “is not indicative of criminal wrongdoing”.

DP World has declined to comment on the nature of bin Sulayem’s relationship with Epstein.

He has not been accused of any criminal offence.

The disclosures had immediate consequences for DP World’s international partnerships.

DP World operates the port of Limassol under a long-term concession agreement with the Cypriot state.

In a 2009 email, Epstein wrote to bin Sulayem that he “loved the torture video”, an exchange later identified publicly by US congressman Thomas Massie during a House oversight committee discussion.

The nature of the video was not described, and no allegation of criminal conduct has been made against bin Sulayem in relation to the exchange.

In a separate email dated September 2015, bin Sulayem described to Epstein a personal relationship with a young woman of Cypriot origin, identifying her as having a Cypriot mother and a Russian father.

The email contained explicit sexual descriptions and included a recommendation of the woman to Epstein.

There is no suggestion in the documents that the woman was underage.

The correspondence places bin Sulayem among a network of prominent international figures who maintained personal contact with Epstein years after the financier’s 2008 conviction in the United States for procuring a minor for prostitution.

Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, supposedly by suicide.

Emails released in the same tranche also show Epstein discussing Cyprus as a potential jurisdiction for financial structuring, at one point dismissing it as “dangerous” from a reputational perspective.

US officials and lawmakers have repeatedly emphasised that the release of the files is intended to increase transparency rather than assign guilt.

“Inclusion in the documents does not, by itself, establish criminal behaviour,” justice department officials have said.

DP World said the new appointments would “support its strategy for sustainable growth and reinforce its role in strengthening global supply chains”, as the company seeks to contain reputational damage while maintaining operations, including at Limassol port.