The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The deputy prime minister yesterday slammed as “completely false” e-mails circulating on social media which allege he met the convicted paedophile financier, Jeffrey Epstein, who was then eager to donate $200,000 to his upcoming political campaign.

Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, said there were major questions over the e-mails’ authenticity given that the first batch were purportedly sent on Tuesday, March 14, 2016, and Monday, March 20, 2016. He said the days were inaccurate, as the correct ones for that year and date were Monday and Sunday - something this newspaper was also able to confirm.

Tribune Business research also called into question the legitimacy of the widely-circulating e-mails, which claimed Epstein planned to contact Mr Cooper again in 2018, as none of them could be found among the three million documents released by the US Justice Department despite multiple and extensive searches being performed.

The deputy prime minister, hinting that their appearance could have something to do with the upcoming general election and ongoing political campaign, added that he “categorically rejects” any attempt to link him to Epstein and affirmed he never received any financial contribution “directly or indirectly” from the financier.

“These claims are completely false,” Mr Cooper said in a statement. “The document being circulated contains basic factual errors that call its authenticity into question. The fake e-mail is dated ‘Tuesday, March 14, 2016’, when March 14, 2016, was in fact a Monday.

“The other is dated ‘Monday, March 20, 2016’, when March 20, 2016 was a Sunday. When a document cannot correctly identify something as simple and independently verifiable as calendar dates, it raises serious concerns about its reliability.”

He added: “Let me state unequivocally: I have never met Jeffrey Epstein or anyone who claimed to be associated with him. I have never communicated with him or anyone who claimed to be associated with him. I have never received any campaign contribution - directly or indirectly - from him or anyone acting on his behalf.

“As we move deeper into an election season, I urge the public to exercise caution. We are living in a time when AI-generated documents, manipulated screenshots and fabricated images can be created and circulated within minutes. Not everything that appears formatted or official is authentic.

“Knowingly spreading false information that damages reputations is not harmless - it may constitute criminal libel and is an offense under the law. I encourage everyone to think carefully before sharing or amplifying unverified material,” the deputy prime minister continued.

“My public record and campaign disclosures are transparent and available for review. I categorically reject any attempt to associate my name with Mr Epstein or his activities and remain focused on serving the people of the Exumas and Ragged Island and The Bahamas.”

Mr Cooper’s push back came after Island Luck’s co-founders recently both slammed claims they were involved in human and firearms trafficking as alleged in a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report released in the so-called Epstein files.

Sebas Bastian and Adrian Fox both told Tribune Business in separate statements that they had never “met or associated” with the late financier after their named were both included in September 30, 2021, FBI document which detailed how an informant had alleged in an interview that “Epstein controlled the Bahamian and US governments”.

Mr Bastian, currently campaigning as the PLP’s Fort Charlotte candidate, asserted “I don’t do fool” and added: “The closest I come to Epstein, Jepstein or any Stein is the stain on my shirt.” Signalling that he will not be distracted from the upcoming election, he added: “We have a country to build and I’m focused on helping with that.”

Mr Fox, meanwhile, voiced “grave concern” about the FBI report’s contents, and said: “I want to categorically state that I have never had any personal interaction with him [Epstein], nor have I engaged in any activities that could be construed as illegal, including the sale or trafficking of firearms or women.”

The two web shop gaming moguls were far from the only Bahamians named in the same FBI report. Also featuring was Craig Flowers, principal of the rival FML Group of Companies, though he was mentioned separately from Messrs Bastian and Fox and not linked, or connected to, claims of arms and human trafficking. Mr Flowers did not respond to requests for comment so Tribune Business is not detailing what was reported about him, but there is no suggestion that he has comitted any wrongdoing.

Also included, although his name was spelt incorrectly, was Marvin Dames, the former national security minister and an ex-deputy commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force who, like Mr Bastian, is standing as a candidate in the upcoming general election - for the Free National Movement (FNM) in Mount Moriah.

The FBI report said Mr Dames, who was named as ‘Marvin James’, brought the informant who made the allegations against the web shop gaming chiefs to the US embassy in Nassau who “took her information”. The ex-Cabinet minister yesterday confirmed to Tribune Business that this element of the report was accurate, although he challenged the document’s authenticity.

The informant’s name was redacted, or blacked out, in the FBI report. However, Tribune Business knows her identity and she is a wealthy US expatriate resident of The Bahamas who owns property, and lives in, Paradise Island’s high-end Ocean Club Estates. This newspaper has chosen not to name the woman, who is a fitness trainer by profession, for legal reasons.