‘Well done Petey’: Epstein advised Mandelson on $6m Deutsche Bank role
Peter Mandelson sought advice from convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein on a possible job offer worth up to $6m from Deutsche Bank as part of a joint campaign to land the former business secretary lucrative roles in finance after Labour lost the 2010 election, newly released emails show.
According to messages published by the US Department of Justice, the disgraced politician told Epstein he had secured a plum adviser role from the German giant to help its new investment banking boss “access governments families and corporations”.
Details of an apparent offer – which Mandelson forwarded to the late American financier over email – promised a salary of $1m (£733,065) with scope for a bonus of between $3m and $9m, in line with what “a senior banker would be paid in the UK market”. In a separate exchange, Mandelson says the bonus may be between $3m and $5m.
He received details of the proposal a matter of weeks after Labour lost the 2010 general election, which brought an end to his second stint as business secretary.
In the newly released batch of emails, photographs and bank statements – which have been dubbed the ‘Epstein files’ – Epstein called the offer a “good first step”.
Mandelson replied saying: “That all you can say ??!! Good petey [sic], well done petey [sic].”
Epstein replied “ok ok ok good petey well done petey” but then urged Mandelson to “raise [his] sights” before adding: “Let’s get three of these.”
Exchanges reveal depth of Mandelson and Epstein relationship
The messages are further evidence of the close relationship between Epstein and Mandelson that led to the latter being removed from his position as Britain’s ambassador to the US less than a year after being appointed.
Other exchanges released between the pair showed Mandelson told Epstein he was “trying hard” to convince the Treasury to row back from a mooted crackdown on bankers’ bonuses rules in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. He also advised the boss of JP Morgan to “mildly threaten” 11 Downing Street over the planned tax hikes. Mandelson was serving in Gordon Brown’s cabinet as business secretary at the time, and leaked a sensitive government document proposing £20bn of asset sales.
Bank statements published alongside the cache of emails suggest he was then paid $75,000 (£55,000) by an account linked to Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell.
Mandelson, who is still a member of the House of Lords, quit the Labour party in the wake of the latest batch of emails being published to avoid “further embarrassment” over his ties to disgraced Epstein.
In his resignation letter, the former ambassador said: “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.”
“Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me,” he added.
An intermediary suggested Deutsche Bank had offered Mandelson the advisory role in a bid to help its new head of investment banking, Anshu Jain, in his bid to “arrange the Bank’s relationship with its customers more effectively”. Jain went on to become the bank’s global chief executive between 2012 and 2015.
The exchange appears to be part of a wider campaign between Mandelson and Epstein to land the former politician roles in finance in the wake of Labour losing the election. In July 2010, the pair also spoke about a potential job at UK investment bank Kleinwort Benson.
In the emails, Epstein writes that “this is only the beginning” and warns Mandelson to keep offers private or risk losing “all our negotiatoin [sic] posture”.
It is not clear from the emails whether the Deutsche Bank proposal ever materialised. Deutsche Bank declined to comment.