Leon Black gave Jeffrey Epstein’s charity $10 million on top of the $158 million he paid for ‘tax advice’ the same year rape prosecutor Guzel Ganieva received hush money from ‘E trust’
Further financial ties between Leon Black and Jeffrey Epstein have been discovered in addition to the $158 million he paid him for “tax advice” and the $62 million he gave Virgin Island prosecutors to avoid involvement in lawsuits against the estate of the deceased pedophile.
A long Research on airmail published this weekend also reveals that Black donated $10 million in 2015 to Gratitude America, a charity run by Jeffrey Epstein with the vague mission of “supporting the expression of gratitude for America’s ideals.”
It was the only donation the charity had received at the time, despite having been around for three years.
In the same month, Guzel Ganieva — a Russian model who was Black’s mistress — received the first of what was believed to be many $100,000 monthly payments to keep quiet about their relationship.
Billionaire Leon Black paid Epstein $158 million for “tax advice,” but also gave his charity $10 million in 2015. It was the only donation the charity received
It came from a mysterious ‘E trust’, while all the other money she had received from Black came from his bank account.
In all, she would receive $20 million from Black as part of their deal.
In return, she signed a non-disclosure agreement agreeing never to speak of their romance, meeting at an Upper East Side apartment across the street from where Black lives with his wife, Debra, and their children.
Guzen Ganieva went public in 2021 with rape claims against Black, six years after agreeing to an NDA deal that would have netted her a total of $20 million
Ganieva was given lavish cash gifts, a Steinway piano, and was treated to expensive nights out with Black.
He had also agreed to help her gain British legal status and also paid for her to attend university.
In 2021, after Epstein’s death and the #MeToo movement that toppled Harvey Weinstein, who regularly signed non-disclosure agreements with accusers, Ganieva went public with her rape and harassment allegations.
She first tweeted her claims and then sued for libel after he accused her of lying.
In the lawsuit, she shared more details about their affair.
They ate “countless” meals in Manhattan, where she said he showed no respect or concern for his wife becoming aware of his infidelity.
She also described the alleged sexual abuse, although many of her specific claims were redacted.
She called Black a “sadist” whose sexual proclivities were “abnormal.”
Black publicly admitted his affair with Ganieva, which he called “foolish,” but he denied the rape allegations.
The case was eventually dropped.
Ganieva’s lawsuit is one of three brought against Black by a woman who claims he raped her.
The other two, filed by Cheri Pierson in 2022 and a Jane Doe with mosaic Down syndrome who says he raped her when she was 16, are still pending. They both say the attacks happened at Jeffrey Epstein’s home.
In 2016, a year after he gave Epstein’s charity $10 million and Ganieva received the first of her $100,000 payments from the “E trust,” money was reversed from Epstein to Black, according to Air Mail.
It was in the form of a donation from Epstein’s charity Gratitude America to Black’s Melanoma Research Charity in the amount of $225,000.
Since Black was the only donor to Epstein’s charity, he was in effect donating the money to his own organization.
Black remains married to his wife Debra. The lawsuit filed by Ganieva alleges that he made no effort to hide his affairs from her
Black, once a high flyer in Manhattan society, has tarnished his reputation through his many deep ties to Epstein. He is shown with Donald Trump in 1996 on a trip to Russia
Reference is also made to an additional $5 million Black allegedly donated to Gratitude America, but the only evidence of this is in a letter of thanks from the charity, which raises questions as to whether he actually paid for the donation and, crucially, whether he claimed it as a tax deduction.
Caribbean prosecutors say Epstein’s criminal enterprise depended on money stored in Southern Trust Company from 2013 to 2017.
The total was $158 million — the same Black had given Epstein between 2012 and 2017.
Black’s ties to Epstein are now under more scrutiny, not only in light of the lawsuit filed by Jane Doe, but also in light of the $158 million he paid Epstein for “tax advice.”
The Senate Finance Committee is investigating whether Black met his tax obligations through the payments.
Why Black — a Wall Street titan with his own firm — would seek such advice from Epstein, whose own financial credentials were far less impressive, remains a mystery to many.
Black’s reps have always maintained that the payments were legitimate, that he foolishly trusted Epstein, and that he was never involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking of young girls.
He has until September 1 to cooperate with the Senate Finance Committee investigation.