Epstein files reveal audio alleging ‘gigantic’ consultancy sums paid to UK's ex-premier Tony Blair: Report

By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - An audio recording from a conversation between late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak alleged that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair received "gigantic" sums of money for his consultancy work, Al Jazeera has reported.

The recording was released last week by the US Justice Department as part of the latest batch of Epstein-related documents.

It revealed Epstein and Barak discussing ways former politicians can make money after leaving office, with Epstein claiming that Blair received substantial payments for his work, while some funds were paid to other parties, the report said Wednesday.

Asking about a "business model" to make money out of a contract with governments, Barak notes that Blair "is doing some probably $11m per year from the Kazakhstan government just to give them advice, to help them with lobbying in some NGO or UN organization."

Stressing that he does not know what Blair is doing for money and whether all of the money goes to him, Epstein says: "Tony has turned funny."

"I hear gigantic numbers given to Tony – $5m here, $10m here, $5m there. Tony’s not making $30m a year," he says, adding: "He’s making $10m a year."

Barak, then, responds highlighting that Blair "probably" leaves some of the money to other providers.

While the US Justice Department has not confirmed the date of the recorded conversation, it reportedly occurred in early 2013.

"None of these people have any idea about what he did or didn’t earn, and the figures given are rubbish," a spokesperson for Blair told Al Jazeera.

The spokesperson noted that Blair never discussed what he earned with the two men, and added that payment for Kazakhstan work was "not paid to Blair but to his organization, which hired a team of people for the purpose of that work, which was about reform in Kazakhstan and completely in line with what other international institutions were working on."

“It was not related to communications or lobbying, which further demonstrates that none of the people concerned knew what they were talking about,” the spokesperson added.

The latest batch of Epstein-related documents released by the US Justice Department last week mentions several high-profile figures.

Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Florida and was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, but critics call the relatively minor conviction a “sweetheart deal.”

His victims have alleged that he operated a sprawling sex trafficking network that was used by members of the wealthy and political elite.