Epstein tried to purchase Morocco palace days before his 2019 arrest

Sicko financier Jeffrey Epstein had long been linked to a “macabre and strange” ranch in New Mexico, an Upper East Side townhouse that ultimately sold for a massive listing discount and his twisted “Pedophile Island” in the US Virgin Islands.

But now, recently released documents from the US Department of Justice reveal Epstein had aimed to make a multimillion-dollar property purchase clear across the Atlantic.

Reuters reports that Charles Schwab wired roughly $27.7 million on behalf of the convicted pedophile to a real estate broker in Morocco, as Epstein tried to purchase a palace in Marrakech 10 days before his 2019 arrest.

Known as Palace Bin Ennakhil, Arabic for “between the palm trees,” the estate stands in the city’s affluent Palmeraie neighborhood. It features traditional Moorish architecture that has been described as a masterpiece — with more than 2,500 palm trees, 60 marble fountains, mosaic-tiled courtyards, a hammam steam spa and a pool.   

Epstein had aimed to buy the palace for years beginning in 2011, but disputes over its price and purchase agreement got in the way. Marc Leon, of Kensington Luxury Properties, was dealing with Epstein. The terms of the deal were finalized in March 2019, according to Reuters. 

Leon did not return Gimme Shelter’s requests for comment. However, he defended the deal to Reuters, adding that he sold the palace to another buyer since then. 

For its part, Morocco has no extradition treaty with the United States. Previous press has speculated that one of Epstein’s aims was to avoid arrest if new charges against him emerged. The Department of Justice files, meanwhile, don’t make any reference of Epstein using Morocco as an escape from American authorities.

Epstein arranged to have the $27.7 million wired through a new account he had set up at Charles Schwab, which flagged the transfers as suspicious shortly before he was found dead in his cell while facing federal child sex trafficking charges in August 2019. (JPMorgan filed a “retroactive” Suspicious Activity Report in 2019 covering more than $1 billion in different transactions dating back to 2003 only after Epstein’s death.)

2011, the year that Epstein first expressed interest in the Marrakech palace, was an active property year for Epstein.

That same year, his mentor Les Wexner transferred ownership of his New York City townhouse at 9 E. 71st St. to a US Virgin Islands-based trust, Maple Inc., which Epstein controlled. It was a no-money deal. 

Also in 2011, Epstein secretly invested in developer David Mitchell’s boutique Manhattan building, 21 E. 26th St., whose initial buyers included President Bill Clinton’s daughter Chelsea Clinton and Jennifer Lopez. 

By 2015, Epstein told Leon via email that Knight Frank, a London-based firm, estimated the Marrakech palace’s value at 15 million, presumably in Euros. Leon disagreed. 

“I would agree with the Knight Frank’s estimation of value if it is just for the garden! There are 1900 Dactilifera palm trees, 300 Washington palm trees and 320 three hundred year old olive trees which would cost around 15 million euros alone along with the garden design … If Knight Frank would like to give their real opinion of value for the construction and quality of this masterpiece, we can organize a visit,” Leon wrote by email. 

Knight Frank declined Gimme’s request for comment.

Even before 2011, Epstein had connections to the north African nation. The late Virginia Giuffre wrote in her “Nobody’s Girl” memoir that he and Ghislaine Maxwell had flown her to Tangier, a city in the north of Morocco, to eye the design of luxury homes there. At that time, according to reports, Epstein wanted to design one of his homes in a Moroccan style.

In 2002, Epstein and Maxwell, on an invite from Bill Clinton, traveled to Morocco to attend the wedding of King Mohammed.