Karim Wade

Karim Wade is a Senegalese politician and the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, who led Senegal from 2000 to 2012. He served as Minister of State for International Cooperation, Regional Development, Air Transport and Infrastructure from May 2009 to April 2012, a wide-ranging portfolio that led observers to describe him as a “super-minister.” He was arrested in 2013 and, in March 2015, convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison before being pardoned in June 2016, after which he went into exile in Qatar.

According to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), drawing on emails released by the US Justice Department, Jeffrey Epstein and Wade developed a relationship beginning in late 2010. OCCRP reports that in November 2010 Epstein wrote, “The President of Senegal is sending his son to see me in paris,” and that the two later discussed business and investment ideas in Africa. An Agence France-Presse report published by Arab News states that Epstein viewed Wade as “one of the most important players in africa.”

OCCRP and AFP report that after Wade’s corruption conviction, Epstein helped finance lobbying efforts in the United States aimed at securing his release. According to OCCRP, a representative for Wade wrote to Epstein in September 2015 that the “Total cost for 3 months would be 100,000 USD,” and an invoice from Wade’s lawyer billed Epstein’s Southern Trust Company $500,000 for legal-related fees. AFP reports that Epstein covered at least $50,000 in fees for the US lobbying firm Nelson Mullins, whose partner Robert Crowe kept Epstein updated on efforts to pressure Senegalese president Macky Sall. OCCRP states that it sent questions to the email address Wade had used in his correspondence with Epstein but did not receive a response, and AFP reports that Wade’s lawyer, Mohamed Seydou Diagne, “did not consider it useful to comment” when contacted.

Is Karim Wade in the Epstein files?

Yes. According to reporting by OCCRP and Agence France-Presse based on emails released by the US Justice Department, Karim Wade appears in the Epstein files in correspondence describing a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Epstein’s involvement in financing a US lobbying campaign to seek Wade’s release after his 2015 corruption conviction in Senegal. Wade did not respond to OCCRP’s questions, and his lawyer declined to comment to AFP.

Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing. People appear in these documents in many contexts — correspondence, flight logs, contact books, scheduling, photographs, or passing references. See the sources above for the specific, documented context.

Documents

Primary-source records that reference Karim Wade. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Wade did not respond to OCCRP’s questions and his lawyer declined to comment to AFP.

• DOJ Epstein Files (EFTA release) — According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Agence France-Presse, emails released by the U.S. Justice Department trace a relationship between Epstein and Wade beginning in late 2010 and describe Epstein helping to finance a U.S. lobbying campaign to seek Wade’s release after his 2015 Senegalese corruption conviction. The reporting cites a September 2015 message putting the “Total cost for 3 months” at “100,000 USD” and Epstein covering fees for the lobbying firm Nelson Mullins.