American Express regrets having Epstein as a client as files reveal travel bookings for women or girls

American Express regrets having late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a client for years, as hundreds of documents released by the US Department of Justice and reviewed by News themezone appear to show that he used the company’s travel agency to arrange international flights for multiple women or girls, predominantly from Eastern Europe, whose names are redacted.

“American Express strongly condemns human abuse, exploitation and trafficking. We take our legal and regulatory responsibilities seriously, including reporting suspicious activity,” an Amex spokesperson told News themezone on Thursday. “We canceled your account following federal charges against you and continually update our processes and controls. We regret having you as a customer.”

News themezone cannot verify the number of women or girls involved, or their ages, due to the redaction of their names. But an analysis of hundreds of reservation itineraries on the stretch orf Epstein files released shows that women or girls were recruited to fly to the United States and other parts of the world, largely from countries such as Russia, Poland, Belarus, Latvia and Ukraine.

The reservations revealed by the documents span at least seven years, between 2012 and 2019, before Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges but after his 2008 conviction on charges that included procuring a minor for prostitution.

Epstein’s longtime executive assistant, Lesley Groff, was a central person in arranging the bookings with Amex, documents released by the Justice Department appear to show. News themezone requested comment from Groff about the purpose of the reservations and how Amex provided support for travel arrangements. Groff has not been criminally charged in connection with any of Epstein’s crimes.

A 2012 email exchange between an individual whose name is redacted, Groff, and Epstein’s former accountant, Bella Klein, appears to show that a travel account was set up for Epstein using an Amex Black card, an invitation-only card reserved for some of the company’s wealthiest clients. Klein has also not been criminally charged in connection with any of Epstein’s crimes.

“Hey guys…since JE insists we use Amex to book trips now, I’ve created a designated ‘travel team’ with my black card. They’re basically trying to keep track of all of our preferences, etc. I’ve added them both as people authorized to book trips with it,” the email reads.

Multiple exchanges, both of redacted names and just between Groff and Epstein, appear to show that bookings were made for women or girls. In one exchange from 2014, Epstein forwards an email to Groff in which he sends her a message with a redacted name, saying: “coordinator with Jane Doe 3, you need to change your ticket for thrus friday, lesley booked it through amex.”

In another exchange from 2014, Epstein emails Groff, “let’s see if we can change [redacted] ticket for her to fly to New York tomorrow and directly to Poland.”

Groff responds: “It looks like I can get to Poland today… Amex has me on hold to check on one more thing with LOT Airlines… Should I change her ticket to go to Poland tonight? She would take the same flight she has booked now: departure from JFK at [ ] Tonight at 6:40 pm we will arrive in Poland tomorrow at 9 am.”

In a 2018 exchange in which both the sender and recipient of the emails are redacted, an Amex travel reservation with a name redacted to fly from Moscow to Paris is sent along with the message,”[Redacted]below is the ticket for [Redacted]…can you show us that its departure is at 5:55 am on the 28th? Make sure she’s conscious…it’s early…but Jeffrey wants her home around noon…so this works!”

Multiple documents also appear to show that Groff consulted Amex about obtaining visas for women or girls, whose names are redacted in the files.

In a 2017 email from Groff to a redacted name, she says, “Hi…Jeffrey has asked me to get a ticket for [redacted] from Moscow to Paris and then to Miami this Friday, June 2, returning on Tuesday. “June 6… He wants her to meet him at the Paris airport, where they will both take the same flight to Miami… Our Amex representative says you should check with the French consulate in Russia to see if you need a transit visa.”

International bodies and anti-trafficking groups, including the United Nations, have long said that the global travel and hospitality industry is often misused for generalized purposes. sex trafficking operations.

On its website, American Express commits to conducting due diligence against modern slavery and human trafficking, including measures to “monitor, investigate and report potentially suspicious matters globally” when it comes to customer transactions.

News themezone has asked American Express if Epstein’s transactions raised any red flags internally, or if the company was aware of Epstein’s prior conviction in 2008 when it served him as a client, but there was no response at the time of publication.

The apparent links between the Eastern European women and Epstein revealed in the files have drawn intense scrutiny from European officials.

Earlier this month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government would create an analytical team to examine whether Polish children were abused through criminal networks connected to Epstein.

Tusk added that “the links between Epstein and the entire pedophile ring and the Russian special services” would be investigated.