The Epstein Files Expose a Web of Power Across Africa

Three million emails, photos, and videos. That's the staggering volume of documents the US Department of Justice released last month from the Jeffrey Epstein files. The convicted sex offender and financier's reach extended far beyond the wealthy enclaves of New York and London—deep into the corridors of power across Africa.

A Network Spanning Continents

The documents reveal Epstein's connections to some of Africa's most prominent political figures: former South African President Jacob Zuma, Senegalese politician Karim Wade (son of ex-president Abdoulaye Wade), and the late Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

But it's the relationship with Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara that tells the most revealing story. Through Ouattara's niece, Nina Keita, a former model who frequently traveled on Epstein's private jet, the financier facilitated a connection that would open doors for his associate, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, to propose a massive surveillance system to the West African nation.

The timing was no coincidence. Just five days before Ouattara's June 2012 visit to Jerusalem, exiled military officials had attempted a coup against his government. The president was still consolidating power after a brutal civil war that killed at least 3,000 people when his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down.

The $150 Million Surveillance Pitch

By spring 2013, Barak had traveled to Abidjan to personally present Ouattara with an ambitious security proposal. The $150 million package included border security, army training, strategic military consulting—and crucially, mobile and internet surveillance centers plus video monitoring facilities.

The surveillance infrastructure was to be developed by French-Israeli security firm MF-Group and based in Abidjan. According to leaked documents, Barak's pitch positioned this as essential for a country still recovering from civil conflict and facing ongoing security threats.

Yet Ouattara ultimately balked at the price tag, rejecting the comprehensive surveillance proposal. Barak, when questioned by Israeli media at the time, denied offering to build an "intelligence apparatus," calling such claims "incorrect."

What Actually Got Built

Though Barak's grand surveillance plan failed, Israeli-Ivorian security cooperation flourished. In June 2014, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman arrived in Abidjan with 50 Israeli businesspeople, signing two agreements: one on "regular consultations" and another on "defense and internal security."

The details remained classified, but the results speak for themselves. Ivory Coast began purchasing Israeli military vessels, aircraft, and armored vehicles. In 2016, a UN report found that Israeli firm Troya Tech Defence had illegally sold weapons and night vision equipment to Ivory Coast, violating an arms embargo.

More troubling was the 2018 discovery that Israeli spyware Pegasus, developed by the NSO Group, was targeting journalists' phones in Ivory Coast. The malware, believed to be used by governments, was found operating in 45 countries—raising questions about whether surveillance capabilities were ultimately deployed despite the failed 2013 proposal.

Nigeria: Crisis as Business Opportunity

The documents reveal that Barak and Epstein also viewed Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis not as a humanitarian catastrophe, but as a business opportunity. Between 2013 and 2020, Epstein advised Barak on Nigerian deals, with both men leveraging the country's security challenges to promote Israeli products and services.

In 2013, Barak attended a cybersecurity conference in Abuja—ostensibly to meet then-President Goodluck Jonathan. This came as Nigeria had awarded Israeli firm Elbit Systems a controversial contract to surveil digital communications, though public outrage forced the government to reconsider.

By 2020, the World Bank selected Barak's intelligence firm Toka and Israel's National Cyber Directorate to advise Nigeria on designing its national cyber-infrastructure—a remarkable evolution from the controversial surveillance contracts of the previous decade.

The Broader Pattern

Epstein's role appears to have been that of a connector, using his relationships to facilitate high-level introductions that served both political and commercial interests. The documents show him arranging meetings between Nigerian officials and Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, former chairman of port operator DP World, for discussions on securing port ownerships in Lagos and Badagry.

These weren't isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern where personal relationships, geopolitical instability, and commercial opportunities intersected through Epstein's network.