Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem graduated from Temple with a degree in Economics in 1981. | FILE / THE TEMPLE NEWS








Updated 2/12 at 4:10 p.m. EST.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, an Emirati businessman and Temple alumnus, has been revealed to be a “close personal friend” of financier and sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Sulayem visited Epstein’s personal island in the United States Virgin Islands, according to documents released by the Department of Justice.

Sulayem was born to a prominent family in the United Arab Emirates and graduated from Temple with a degree in economics in 1981. Sulayem is currently the group chairman and CEO of DP World, a global supply chain and logistics company.  

Documents released by the Department of Justice indicate that Sulayem and Epstein were in active correspondence from at least 2009 until 2019, when Epstein died in prison after being arrested and prosecuted for sex trafficking of minors. Epstein also served 11 months in prison in 2009 after pleading guilty to charges of solicitation and prostitution of a minor, making him a registered sex offender. 

Documents show regular emails between Sulayem and Epstein for personal and business matters. In a series of exchanges, Epstein connected Sulayem to politicians and business figures like Japanese entrepreneur Joichi Ito, former United Kingdom Labour Party member Peter Mandelson and former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak.  

Sulayem was reportedly named in connection to an email from 2009 referencing a “torture video,” according to House Representative Thomas Massie. The name of the recipient of this email on files available to the public is currently redacted by the Department of Justice. 

Sulayem was one of six men who were revealed by Representatives Massie and Ro Khanna after reviewing unredacted files for multiple hours Feb. 10. 

A spokesperson for the university told The Temple News that Temple is aware of the situation and confirmed that Sulayem was a Temple graduate in 1981.

“As this is not a university matter, we will refrain from commenting further,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Temple News.