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Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem
Sultan bin Sulayem
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem
Sultan Ahmed Sulayem
Sultan Bin Sulayem
Business & Finance
Person
SultanAhmedBinSulayem
DPWorld
DubaiWorld
Nakheel
Dubai
UnitedArabEmirates
CFIUS
DjiboutiPortDispute
GreatStJames
JeffreyEpstein
JPMorgan
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem is the Emirati executive who led Dubai's state ports operator DP World until February 2026, when he was replaced after the release of his correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
type with role end fn
head_of DP World chairman and group chief executive 2026-02-13 1
type with role fn
head_of Dubai World chairman 1
2026-09-25 2026-10-15

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem is an Emirati businessman who for decades headed DP World, the Dubai government-controlled ports and logistics company that operates the Jebel Ali port and more than sixty ports and terminals worldwide.1 He previously chaired Dubai World, the state conglomerate that included the property developer Nakheel, builder of the Palm and World artificial islands.12 In 2019 an internal JPMorgan Chase compliance review of Jeffrey Epstein's correspondence described him as a close associate of Epstein and "a senior United Arab Emirates official involved in ownership of the Dubai Ports."3 He was replaced as DP World's chairman and chief executive on February 13, 2026, three days after Representative Ro Khanna read his name on the floor of the United States House of Representatives from redacted pages of the Department of Justice's Epstein release.14

The 2006 Ports Controversy

In late 2005 DP World moved to acquire the London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), whose terminal operations included six major U.S. ports. On March 2, 2006 Senate Banking Committee chairman Richard Shelby told the committee that DP World had approached the Department of Homeland Security with "very advanced notification" of its intention to buy P&O only three days before the committee's October 2005 hearing on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States process, and that on December 16 the companies "officially requested that their pending transaction be reviewed by CFIUS."5

On February 22, 2006 the George W. Bush White House issued a fact sheet stating that "DHS reached an agreement with DP World to mitigate security concerns" and describing the United Arab Emirates as "a solid partner in the War on Terror."6

A later Congressional Research Service account records that CFIUS, in a briefing for the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 23, 2006, conceded that DP World was controlled by a foreign government but said that the transaction "could not affect the national security." On that finding the second criterion of the Byrd Amendment was not met, and no full 45-day investigation was required.7

At the same March 2 hearing, Robert Kimmitt, the deputy treasury secretary who chaired CFIUS, confirmed to Robert Menendez that DP World had not filed for an additional 45-day review.8

On March 9, 2006 DP World announced that it would transfer its U.S. port operations to an American entity. Steny Hoyer, the House Democratic whip, called it "DP World's decision to divest itself of all American interests and transfer operations of U.S. ports to an American entity," and said that "the deep concerns about national security cannot be alleviated until the details of this proposal are fully understood."9

In December 2006 DP World announced that it was selling its U.S. assets to American International Group, a transaction Marketplace reported as worth "an estimated $700 million."10 The Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007, which the Congressional Research Service records as Public Law 110-49, followed the controversy.7

Dubai World and the 2009 Standstill

On November 26, 2009 the Dubai government asked creditors of Dubai World and its property arm Nakheel to agree a debt standstill until May 30, 2010 while it restructured the group. Nakheel's 3.52 billion dollar Islamic bond repayment fell due on December 14, and the government estimated Dubai's gross debt at 80 billion dollars.2

Djibouti

In February 2018 the government of Djibouti ended DP World's concession at the Doraleh Container Terminal "with immediate effect" and placed the terminal under a state-owned management company, citing a law of November 2017.11 DP World called the takeover an illegal seizure and began arbitration before the London Court of International Arbitration.11 In September 2022 DP World reported an LCIA interim award of 200 million dollars covering February 2018 through December 2020, and said that "total damages due to DP World now amount to US$ 686.5 million, plus accruing interest."12

The 2020 Delisting

On February 17, 2020 DP World announced that its parent, Port and Free Zone World, had offered to buy the 19.55 percent of the company's shares traded on Nasdaq Dubai at $16.75 a share, a 29 percent premium over the previous Sunday's close of $13.13 Bin Sulayem's statement with the announcement said that "Returning to private ownership will free DP World from the demands of the public market for short term returns."13 Port and Free Zone World, a subsidiary of Dubai World, already held 80.45 percent. Reporting put the transaction at about 2.7 billion dollars, with DP World to borrow 8.1 billion dollars and pay 5.15 billion dollars to Dubai World.14

Correspondence with Epstein

An email sent from an address displayed as "Ssulayem" to Epstein on August 12, 2009 forwarded, with the single word "FYI," a chain headed "RE: Puerto Cabello, Venezuela." The chain circulated among DP World staff, including Mohammed Sharaf and Anil Wats, and concerned the company's terminal at Puerto Cabello.15

A DP World email chain of January 25 and 26, 2012 concerned bin Sulayem's induction into the Hall of Fame of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The association's letter of January 25 said that it would honor him at its 19th Annual International Maritime Hall of Fame on May 9, 2012 at the Grand Hyatt New York, before "350-380 CEOs and senior executives." Wats, the company's chief operating officer, asked him which guests he wished to invite. The chain reached Epstein under a cover note, its sender not shown, reading: "Dear Jeffrey Will you be able to attend and can you suggest me names of others I can invite to sit at my table."16

A calendar page in the release lists a "TBD Dinner w/Sultan Bin Sulayem" on Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Paris. Two further calendar pages carry the same entry.17

After Epstein's July 2019 arrest, JPMorgan's compliance staff conducted an internal review code-named Project Jeep. Its October 2019 summary of Epstein's emails, quoted by the United States Virgin Islands in its 2023 suit against the bank, stated: "Jeffrey Epstein appears to maintain a particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew the [Duke] of York and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British Government. He also appears to have a close relationship with Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem who is a senior UAE official involved in ownership of the Dubai Ports."3

CNN reported, from the released correspondence, that in September 2009 bin Sulayem forwarded Epstein a letter to Mandelson, then Britain's Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, requesting loan guarantees for a DP World project in London, and that Epstein answered with suggested edits to the draft; two years later, when bin Sulayem sent him a press release announcing the construction start, Epstein replied "Im (sic) proud of you." CNN also reported that on March 22, 2012 Epstein wrote to bin Sulayem from Berlin that he was there "with the Israeli defense minister" and had "told him about you and sheik (sic) Mohamed," and that in a July 4, 2013 chain Ehud Barak, by then out of office, answered Epstein's question whether an Israeli port privatization was "something for sultan" with "Probably once (and IF) we'll start getting deeper into a sincere peace process." Bin Sulayem later asked Epstein to "arrange for me to meet Ehud," and Barak replied "Yes, of course." On January 6, 2017 bin Sulayem asked Epstein whether he should accept an invitation to the first inauguration of Donald Trump and whether it would be possible to shake the president's hand, and Epstein answered "unlikely"; in 2018, with Epstein copied, bin Sulayem arranged a proposed May 2018 Dubai tour for Steve Bannon.18

The 2016 Boston Visit

On November 29, 2016 Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff wrote to Joi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab: "I understand you and Sultan will be meeting with Jeffrey on Wed. Nov. 30th up at Harvard...can you please let me know your timing? Also, this will be at Martin Nowak's office at 1 Brattle Square?" Ito replied that "Sultan will be with me at the Media Lab," that he was "locking in a bunch of meetings for Sultan at the Media Lab from 9:30AM-11AM," and that Epstein had told him he was "going to drop by the Media Lab at 11AM and then leave the Lab or Martin's at 11:30AM." The company's schedule had bin Sulayem arriving in Boston on the evening of November 30, staying at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge and holding meetings on December 1. Two DP World employees "with the Chairman's office" were travelling with him, and Ito's office told Groff that Ito planned to leave the lab with the party "around 11am to head to the Harvard."19 Martin Nowak's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University had been founded with a 6.5 million dollar gift from Epstein.20

A Deutsche Bank presentation to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, dated September 12, 2019, includes a biography of bin Sulayem that describes him as "a member of one of Dubai's most prominent business and political families" and as the chief executive of DP World.21

Great St. James

In January 2016 Christian Kjaer conveyed three parcels of Great St. James, totaling about 80 acres, to Great St. Jim, LLC, a U.S. Virgin Islands limited liability company in care of the Kellerhals Ferguson Kroblin law firm on Saint Thomas. The deed records consideration of seventeen million five hundred thousand dollars.22

Reporting in 2019 by the Miami Herald, relayed by Fox News, said that Epstein allegedly created the LLC to buy the island and allegedly used the name of bin Sulayem in the transaction. Paperwork for the 22.5 million dollar sale carried bin Sulayem's name without his signature. The reporting said that Epstein allegedly asked him to use his name in a business bid, and that he refused. Local land-use permits later showed Epstein as the company's sole member. The sale closed on January 28, 2016.23

The 2026 Release and Removal

Bin Sulayem's name was redacted in the documents the Justice Department released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act in January 2026. On February 10, 2026 Khanna read six names on the House floor, among them bin Sulayem and Leslie Wexner, and said that the department had shielded them "for no apparent reason"; the department then partially unredacted some of the pages he cited.424 A department spokesperson said that Wexner was referenced nearly two hundred times in the Epstein Files and that "Sultan bin Sulayem appears over 4,700 times."4 CBS News reported that the files it reviewed did not appear to implicate the six men in any crime.4

Al Jazeera reported that the released correspondence covered deals, a visit by bin Sulayem to Epstein's island, the sharing of business and political contacts, and salacious remarks about women, including an exchange with bin Sulayem's email address in which Epstein wrote, "I loved the torture video."24 ABC News reported that in April 2009 Epstein emailed, "where are you? are you ok, I loved the torture video," that the exchange gave no context for the video, and that the recipient replied he was in China and would return in a couple of weeks. Thomas Massie, who had been given access to the unredacted version, said that the recipient was "a Sultan"; Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche later said the recipient's name appeared in a separate unredacted file linked to an email from bin Sulayem, according to CNN, which reported that it was unclear which video Epstein meant. DP World declined to comment to CNN on the matter before the change of leadership.1825 CNN reported that his name appeared thousands of times in the release, that Epstein had described him as "funny," "educated," "a master," and a "best and trusted friend," and that authorities had not accused him of wrongdoing.18

British International Investment, the British government's development investor, and the Canadian pension fund La Caisse, which had invested 2.5 billion dollars in 2022 in Jebel Ali Port, the Jebel Ali Free Zone and the National Industries Park, paused new investment with DP World. La Caisse said that it "would not carry out further investments until it shed light on bin Sulayem's links to Epstein."24

On February 13, 2026 the Dubai Media Office announced, without naming bin Sulayem, that Essa Kazim, governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, had been appointed DP World's chairman, and that Yuvraj Narayan, the company's former chief financial officer, had been named group chief executive.124 DP World has not responded to multiple requests for comment.1 British International Investment said the same day that it would resume investment alongside the company, and La Caisse told CNN that DP World "took the appropriate measures" and that it would "move quickly" to work with the new leadership.1824 The Associated Press reported that some emails referred to pornography, sexual massages and escorts, and that they did not appear to implicate bin Sulayem in Epstein's alleged crimes.1

Footnotes

  1. "Businessman named in Jeffrey Epstein files replaced as chairman of major logistics company." Associated Press, via NBC News, February 13, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/sultan-ahmed-bin-sulayem-jeffrey-epstein-rcna258902 ↩︎

  2. "Dubai seeks debt payment delay." EMEA Finance, November 26, 2009. https://www.emeafinance.com/live/actual/news/867-dubai-seeks-debt-payment-delay-581 ↩︎

  3. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808715, Court Records, Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 22-cv-10904 (S.D.N.Y.), letter motion by Motley Rice to Judge Jed S. Rakoff seeking leave to reopen depositions, June 7, 2023. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/Government%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Virgin%20Islands%20v.%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Bank%2C%20N.A.%2C%20No.%20122-cv-10904%20(S.D.N.Y.%202022)/EFTA02808715.pdf ↩︎

  4. "Rep. Khanna names 6 men he says were redacted from Epstein files for 'no apparent reason'; DOJ says some had no Epstein ties." CBS News, February 2026, updated February 13, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/massie-khanna-epstein-files-6-men/ ↩︎

  5. U.S. Senate, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Examination of the Exon-Florio Amendment: Focus on Dubai Ports World's Acquisition of P&O, hearing of March 2, 2006, S. Hrg. 109-996, statement of Chairman Richard C. Shelby. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-109shrg37513/html/CHRG-109shrg37513.htm ↩︎

  6. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, "Fact Sheet: The CFIUS Process And The DP World Transaction," February 22, 2006. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060222-11.html ↩︎

  7. Jackson, James K. The Exon-Florio National Security Test for Foreign Investment. Congressional Research Service, RL33312, March 29, 2013, pp. 8-9. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33312.html ↩︎

  8. U.S. Senate, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Examination of the Exon-Florio Amendment: Focus on Dubai Ports World's Acquisition of P&O, hearing of March 2, 2006, S. Hrg. 109-996, testimony of Deputy Secretary Robert Kimmitt in response to questions from Senator Robert Menendez. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-109shrg37513/html/CHRG-109shrg37513.htm ↩︎

  9. Statement of Representative Steny Hoyer on DP World's decision to transfer U.S. port operations, March 9, 2006. https://leaderarchive-hoyer.house.gov/content/hoyer-decision-dp-world-transfer-port-operations-fails-answer-security-questions ↩︎

  10. "DP World selling US assets to AIG." Marketplace, December 12, 2006. https://www.marketplace.org/story/2006/12/11/dp-world-selling-us-assets-aig ↩︎

  11. "Djibouti seizes control of Dubai-run Doraleh port." Al Jazeera, February 24, 2018. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/2/24/djibouti-seizes-control-of-dubai-run-doraleh-port ↩︎

  12. DP World, "DP World wins latest judgement over Djibouti concession," September 20, 2022. https://www.dpworld.com/en/news/dp-world-wins-latest-judgement-over-djibouti-concession ↩︎

  13. DP World, "DP World to delist from Nasdaq Dubai," February 17, 2020. https://www.dpworld.com/news/dp-world-to-delist-from-nasdaq-dubai/ ↩︎

  14. "Port operator DP World to delist from Dubai stock exchange." Associated Press, via The Seattle Times, February 17, 2020. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/port-operator-dp-world-to-delist-from-dubai-stock-exchange/ ↩︎

  15. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00773629, DataSet 9, email from "Ssulayem" to Jeffrey Epstein, August 12, 2009, forwarding "RE: Puerto Cabello, Venezuela." https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00773629.pdf ↩︎

  16. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02033989, DataSet 10, forwarded DP World email chain, "Confirmation of Sultan Ahmed Sulayem for Hall of Fame, May 9," January 25-26, 2012. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02033989.pdf ↩︎

  17. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, calendar pages EFTA00293637 (March 2013), EFTA00306217 and EFTA00315407, DataSet 9. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00293637.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00306217.pdf ; https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00315407.pdf ↩︎

  18. "Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem: Powerful Dubai tycoon replaced after DOJ reveals sexually explicit emails with Epstein." CNN Business, February 13, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/business/epstein-files-bin-sulayem-friendship-intl ↩︎

  19. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00439714, DataSet 9, email chain "Re: Jeffrey Epstein," November 29-30, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00439714.pdf ↩︎

  20. Lopez, Diane E., Ara B. Gershengorn, and Martin F. Murphy. Report Concerning Jeffrey E. Epstein's Connections to Harvard University. Harvard Office of the General Counsel and Foley Hoag LLP, May 2020. https://ogc.harvard.edu/file_url/208 ↩︎

  21. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA01681865, DataSet 10, Deutsche Bank presentation to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, September 12, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01681865.pdf ↩︎

  22. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00014362, DataSet 8, warranty deed, Christian Kjaer to Great St. Jim, LLC, January 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%208/EFTA00014362.pdf ↩︎

  23. Rambaran, Vandana. "Jeffrey Epstein used name of wealthy Dubai businessman to acquire second island in Caribbean, report finds." Fox News, October 1, 2019, citing a Miami Herald report. https://www.foxnews.com/us/jeffrey-epstein-used-name-of-wealthy-dubai-businessman-to-acquire-second-island-in-caribbean-report-finds ↩︎

  24. "Dubai-based DP World replaces chief named in Epstein files." Al Jazeera, February 13, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/13/logistics-giant-dp-world-replaces-chief-named-in-epstein-files ↩︎

  25. "Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, 'Close Personal Friend' Of Epstein, Resigns As CEO Of DP World." Forbes, February 13, 2026. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikestunson/2026/02/13/dubai-ceo-resigns-after-released-email-showed-epstein-thanking-him-for-torture-video/ ; "Emirati billionaire resigns as CEO of logistics firm following Epstein revelations." ABC News, February 13, 2026. https://abcnews.com/US/emirati-billionaire-resigns-ceo-logistics-firm-epstein-revelations/story?id=130136386 ↩︎