Russia has dismissed claims that Jeffrey Epstein was used as asset, after reports that he may have been used by Russian security services.
According to Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, there was no point in “wasting time” on the question.
He added that the statement could not be taken seriously, saying he would “like to joke a lot” about these reports.
Claims that Epstein may have been a KGB agent prompted Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to ask for an investigation in his country into possible links between Epstein and Russian authorities.
The Mail on Sunday reported that the newly released US documents mention Vladimir Putin more than 1,000 times, with thousands of other references to Moscow.
The files dropped on Friday as part of a huge DOJ release involving more than three million pages of material connected to Epstein.
In those records are several emails where Epstein or his circle appear to discuss potential meetings with Putin.
One message from September 2011 reportedly references an “appointment with Putin” during an upcoming trip to Russia.
Another email from 2014 shows Japanese tech investor Joi Ito telling Epstein he couldn’t persuade LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to “go meet Putin with you.”
There’s no evidence these meetings ever actually happened, only that they were discussed.
The ‘KGB agent’ allegation
According to the Mail’s reporting, some intelligence sources in the US believe Epstein may have been used by Russian security services, with one insider even claiming he could have operated as a “KGB agent” or asset.
The idea pushed by these sources is that Epstein’s network of high-profile guests, private jets and his island “bristling with technology” could have been used as a giant honeytrap aimed at gathering compromising information on powerful people.
One source quoted by the Mail alleged that it is: “The world’s largest honeytrap operation.”
Another says: “You have Andrew, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and all the rest placed in compromising positions on an island bristling with technology.”
However, the espionage speculation doesn’t stop at Russia.
The Mail also revisits a long-running theory that Epstein may have had ties to Mossad, centred on his long relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell and her father the media tycoon, Robert Maxwell, who was rumoured to have worked with Israeli intelligence.
The suggestion is that Epstein could have been introduced to espionage through the Maxwells’ alleged Mossad networks.
The Mail’s sources also claim Epstein had long-standing connections to figures in the Russian mafia, including organised crime bosses who may have had leverage over him.
US intelligence agencies reportedly monitored some of these alleged links for years.
British agencies, however, are alleged to have been more cautious partly because of Epstein’s friendship with then-Prince Andrew.
As with previous Epstein document releases, appearing in his files, whether through emails, photos or meeting notes, does not mean someone committed wrongdoing.
The allegations of KGB links, Kremlin operations and Mossad involvement remain unverified and heavily disputed, and based largely on anonymous intelligence.