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The_Info_Web/20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/DP World.md

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aliases category tags summary start location relations created updated
Dubai Ports World
DP World Limited
Dubai Ports
Private Organization
Organization
DPWorld
Dubai
UnitedArabEmirates
Ports
CFIUS
SultanAhmedBinSulayem
JeffreyEpstein
Dubai government-owned ports operator formed in 2005, whose 2006 bid for six U.S. port operations provoked a CFIUS fight and whose chairman was replaced in 2026 over Epstein correspondence. 2005-11 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
type with reverse role start fn
owned Dubai World true parent through Port and Free Zone World; full ownership after 2020 delisting 2020 8
type with reverse role start fn
head_of Essa Kazim true chairman 2026-02-13 3
type with reverse role start fn
head_of Yuvraj Narayan true group chief executive 2026-02-13 3
type with reverse role start fn
funded British International Investment true co-investor with La Caisse in Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and National Industries Park, 2.5 billion dollars 2022 2
2026-09-25 2026-10-15

DP World is a ports and logistics company controlled by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It was created in November 2005 by integrating the Dubai Ports Authority and Dubai Ports International and operates the Jebel Ali port and terminals on several continents. Its 2006 purchase of the British operator P&O, which would have given it terminal operations in six major U.S. ports, was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and then met sustained congressional opposition that led to a rewriting of the foreign-investment review law. Until February 13, 2026 its chairman and chief executive was Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, whose correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein was released by the Department of Justice in 2026; he was replaced three days after his name was read on the floor of the United States House of Representatives.123

The 2006 Ports Controversy

DP World's bid for the London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) was announced in November 2005, and the formal CFIUS review began in December. The George W. Bush White House stated in a fact sheet of February 22, 2006 that "Twelve Federal agencies and the government's counterterrorism experts closely and carefully reviewed the transaction," that the Department of Homeland Security had "reached an agreement with DP World to mitigate security concerns," and that DP World had "signed a letter of assurances making commitments to meet and maintain security standards for the port terminals that they will own and operate in the United States." It described the UAE as "a solid partner in the War on Terror" that had "worked with us to stop terrorist financing and money laundering," noted that Dubai was "the first Middle Eastern entity" to join the Container Security Initiative and the Department of Energy's Megaports Initiative, and said that "The United States government has a strong working relationship with DP World." President Bush said on February 21: "If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward."4

The proposed acquisition of "major operations in six major U.S. ports" came under "intense scrutiny" in Congress. Members of Congress argued that the 1992 Byrd amendment required a full 45-day investigation of any acquirer "controlled by or acting on behalf of a foreign government"; CFIUS representatives told the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 23, 2006 that they had conceded DP World was government-controlled but had concluded during the 30-day review that the transaction "could not affect the national security." The reaction led the administration to change its review practice in late 2006 and Congress to pass the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007.1

On March 9, 2006 the company 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."5 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."6

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.7

Ownership and the 2020 Delisting

A minority of DP World's shares traded on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange until 2020. On February 17, 2020 the company announced that it would delist and return to full state ownership. Port and Free Zone World, a wholly owned subsidiary of the government investment company Dubai World, already owned 80.45 percent and agreed to buy the remaining 19.55 percent for about 2.7 billion dollars, or 16.75 dollars a share. As part of the transaction DP World's parent was to pay Dubai World 5.15 billion dollars "to assist it in repaying its outstanding obligations to banks," so that DP World could operate "without any restrictions from Dubai World's creditors," and DP World was to borrow a further 8.1 billion dollars. Bin Sulayem said that "returning to private ownership will free DP World from the demands of the public market for short term returns." DP World had by then expanded into East Africa, where the Emirati government had begun building military bases.8

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 2017.9 DP World called the takeover an illegal seizure and began arbitration before the London Court of International Arbitration.9 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."10

Epstein

A DP World email chain of January 25 and 26, 2012, in which the company's chief operating officer, Anil Wats, asked bin Sulayem which guests he wished to invite to his induction into the International Maritime Hall of Fame of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey at the Grand Hyatt New York on May 9, 2012, reached Epstein under a note 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."11

On November 29, 2016 Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff, the office of Joi Ito at the MIT Media Lab and two employees of DP World "with the Chairman's office" arranged a visit by bin Sulayem, set up by Epstein, to the Media Lab and then to Martin Nowak's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University. Ito wrote that he was "locking in a bunch of meetings for Sultan at the Media Lab from 9:30AM-11AM."12

After Epstein's July 2019 arrest, JPMorgan Chase's internal review known as Project Jeep reported that Epstein "appears to have a close relationship with Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem who is a senior UAE official involved in ownership of the Dubai Ports."13 Epstein arranged for bin Sulayem's name to appear as ultimate beneficial owner on contractual paperwork for the purchase of Great St. James through Great St. Jim LLC; reporting indicated that bin Sulayem had declined the request and that no signature of his appeared on the documents.14

The 2026 Removal

On February 10, 2026 Representative Ro Khanna read bin Sulayem's name on the House floor among six men he said the department had redacted "for no apparent reason." A department spokesperson said bin Sulayem appeared more than 4,700 times in the files.15 The released correspondence included an exchange in which Epstein wrote to bin Sulayem's email address, "I loved the torture video."2 In the same week 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. 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 chairman and Yuvraj Narayan, the former chief financial officer, group chief executive; British International Investment said the same day that it would resume investing. DP World did not respond to the Associated Press's requests for comment. Bin Sulayem has not been accused of a crime.23

Footnotes

  1. Jackson, James K. The Exon-Florio National Security Test for Foreign Investment. Congressional Research Service, RL33312, March 29, 2013, pp. 1, 7-9, 11-12 and n. 24. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33312.html ↩︎

  2. "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 ↩︎

  3. "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 ↩︎

  4. 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 ↩︎

  5. 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 ↩︎

  6. "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 ↩︎

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

  8. "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/ ↩︎

  9. "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 ↩︎

  10. 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 ↩︎

  11. 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 ↩︎

  12. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00439714, DataSet 9, email chain, "Re: Jeffrey Epstein," among Lesley Groff, Joichi Ito, Yuko Barnaby, and DP World staff, November 29, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00439714.pdf ↩︎

  13. U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA02808715, Court Records, Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 1:22-cv-10904 (S.D.N.Y.), letter motion of Motley Rice to Judge Jed S. Rakoff seeking leave to reopen depositions, June 7, 2023, p. 3. 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 ↩︎

  14. "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 ; "Jeffrey Epstein used name of wealthy Dubai businessman to acquire second island in Caribbean, report finds." Fox News, 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/us/jeffrey-epstein-used-name-of-wealthy-dubai-businessman-to-acquire-second-island-in-caribbean-report-finds ↩︎

  15. "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 10, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/massie-khanna-epstein-files-6-men/ ↩︎