Epstein–Barak recording exposes multimillion-dollar fees paid to Tony Blair
An audio recording released by the US Department of Justice, part of a trove of more than three million files disclosed last week, features convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak discussing “gigantic” sums paid to former UK prime minister Tony Blair for “consulting work.”
In the recording, Barak and Epstein appear to be discussing strategies for former political figures to earn money after leaving office.
Barak later references reports that Blair was earning around $11 million per year from the government of Kazakhstan.
He’s heard saying that he was receiving the money “just to give them advice, to help them with lobbying in some NGO or UN agency.”
Epstein expresses skepticism about how much of the money actually went to Blair.
“I don’t know what Tony’s doing for money. And I don’t know if the money that Tony is getting is actually to Tony or to somebody else,” he says.
“I hear gigantic numbers given to Tony – $5m here, $10m here, $5m there. Tony’s not making $30m a year,” Epstein adds.
Barak responds that Blair may be sharing portions of the payments with others involved in the work.
The DOJ has not confirmed when the conversation took place, though media reports suggest it occurred in early 2013.
Epstein, who died of apparent suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, was a known financial adviser and a close associate of the former Israeli prime minister for several years.
A spokesperson for Blair dismissed the figures mentioned in the recording as “rubbish,” saying the former prime minister met Epstein only once and never discussed his earnings with him or Barak.
The recording sheds light on Epstein’s connections with high-profile world leaders and his role as a confidant and financial adviser, even after he became a convicted sex offender following a controversial plea deal in 2008.
A declassified FBI document released last week as part of the Epstein files revealed that US President Donald Trump was considered vulnerable to foreign influence, particularly from Israel, through financial and political leverage.
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