DP World chair resigns after documents show Epstein ties

The chair and CEO of DP World resigned early Friday over his alleged ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after he was named in the files released by the Justice Department (DOJ).

The Dubai-based supply chain giant announced the departure of Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem in a statement, saying the resignation is “effective immediately.” In his place, the company announced that Essa Kazim will fill the role of chair and Ryvraj Narayan is now CEO. 

Sulayem’s decision to step aside follows a push from several U.S. lawmakers against some of the redactions made in the files released by DOJ under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The Trump administration said heavy redactions were made to protect the privacy of Epstein’s victims.

The Justice Department recently granted access to lawmakers who wanted to review the unredacted files. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who led the bipartisan effort to force DOJ to release the documents, took advantage of that offer earlier this week.

The duo later accused the administration of concealing names of people who may have been complicit in Epstein’s crimes, including Sulayem. In a post online, Massie specifically pointed to a 2019 email exchange between the disgraced financier and DP World CEO, which included a message from Epstein saying, “I loved the torture video.”

“A Sultan seems to have sent this. DOJ should make this public,” the Kentucky Republican wrote Monday on social platform X.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche responded to Massie’s post, accusing the lawmaker of “grandstanding.”

“You looked at the document. You know it’s an email address that was redacted,” Blanche replied. “The law requires redactions for personally identifiable information, including if in an email address. And you know that the Sultan’s name is available unredacted in the files.”

Sulayem appears numerous times throughout the files, corresponding with Epstein over email about dinner and travel plans. 

Massie responded to Sulayem’s resignation announcement Friday, crediting his and Khanna’s efforts to make his name public.

“DOJ redacted information necessary to identify who sent Epstein the ‘torture video email,’” he wrote on X. “@RepRoKhanna and I first discovered his name and released it Monday. Today he resigns.”