Epstein’s Maldivian Connection: Did Waheed Seek Shady Financing Through a Convicted Predator?

A fresh leak from Jeffrey Epstein’s archives has unearthed a disturbing link between the disgraced financier and the Maldives’ highest office. A 2014 email shows Epstein casually offering access to a “former president of the Maldives” an offhand remark that has triggered a storm of suspicion in Malé.

But this is no passing curiosity. Court filings confirm that Epstein had direct email contact with then-sitting President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik in 2012, discussing none other than a $500 million sovereign loan. Within weeks, the Maldives signed a half-billion-dollar deal with China.

The timeline is too precise to dismiss. For a nation long plagued by opaque financial deals, the revelations point to troubling questions: Was Epstein a hidden player in Maldivian state financing? And what exactly was promised in return?

The 2014 Email Leak

The leaked correspondence is simple but explosive. Epstein invited former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to meet billionaire Peter Thiel in New York on April 19, 2014, noting that a Maldivian ex-president would also attend. Barak declined.

At the time, the Maldives had three living former leaders: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed Nasheed, and Dr. Waheed. Public records confirm Gayoom and Nasheed were both in the Maldives in April 2014. Waheed’s whereabouts remain unverified.

The implication: Epstein may have been referring to Waheed.

Court Filings: “Warm Regards, Waheed”

Suspicion deepened with the release of U.S. court documents. On July 28, 2012, Epstein forwarded an email to Barclays executive Jes Staley, allegedly from Waheed. In it, Waheed inquired about securing a $500 million loan for the Maldives government over a 10-year term, with a one-year grace period. The email closed with a personal sign-off: “Warm regards, Waheed.”

Barely five weeks later, on September 3, 2012, the Maldives inked a $500 million loan agreement with China, as reported by Reuters.

The proximity between Waheed’s email to Epstein and the Chinese loan agreement is now being scrutinized as more than mere coincidence.

Public Backlash

The revelations have ignited fury online. On X (formerly Twitter), Maldivians are openly questioning why a convicted sex offender and global manipulator was consulted on multimillion-dollar national financing.

“Half a billion dollars of debt, and Epstein was in the middle of it. How deep does this go?” one user asked.

For many, the concern isn’t just Epstein’s involvement  it’s what it says about the Maldives’ vulnerability to shadowy networks of financiers and power brokers.

More Than Embarrassment

The connection is not just a national embarrassment. It points to deeper rot in how the Maldives has conducted state business. If Epstein had influence even advisory in state-level financing, it suggests the country’s financial sovereignty was compromised by figures outside the democratic process.

Defenders may claim this is coincidence that Epstein’s name appearing in Maldivian state business is just an unfortunate overlap. But coincidences don’t forward emails to Barclays executives. Coincidences don’t involve heads of state signing loan deals weeks later.

For a small island nation, being entangled in Epstein’s sordid global network is a national embarrassment. But more than that, it’s a warning sign. It shows how opaque, unaccountable deals have shaped Maldivian politics not through transparent governance, but through backroom dealings with tainted financiers and foreign powers.

And with Waheed the common denominator in both the 2012 email and the 2014 reference, the question becomes unavoidable: What was the true extent of his dealings with Epstein?

The Unanswered Questions

• Why was Epstein, not a financial institution, the channel for Maldives’ loan inquiries?
• Did Epstein play any intermediary role in securing the Chinese loan?
• Was Waheed physically present at the 2014 meeting Epstein referenced?
• Most critically: what did this association cost the Maldives in political or financial terms?

A Call for Accountability

Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik owes the nation a full accounting. Silence will only deepen suspicion that Epstein’s toxic influence reached into Maldivian state affairs.

The Maldives a small island nation with a fragile economy cannot afford to have its politics shaped by secretive dealings with disgraced predators and billionaire financiers. Transparency is not optional. It is overdue.