Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend accused of sex trafficking, sits at the defence table in a courtroom sketch in New York City. Reuters
Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend accused of sex trafficking, sits at the defence table in a courtroom sketch in New York City. Reuters
Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend accused of sex trafficking, sits at the defence table in a courtroom sketch in New York City. Reuters
Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend accused of sex trafficking, sits at the defence table in a courtroom sketch in New York City. Reuters

World

US

Ghislaine Maxwell trial: defence calls former Epstein assistant as first witness

Jury has so far heard evidence from four women who said Maxwell groomed them between 1994 and 2004 for abuse by Epstein

James Reinl
James Reinl
New York City

December 16, 2021

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Ghislaine Maxwell's defence kicked off its case in the British socialite's sex abuse trial on Thursday, calling a former assistant to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein as its first witness.

Since the trial began on November 29, the jury has heard evidence from four women who said Maxwell groomed them between 1994 and 2004 for abuse by Epstein.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.

Cimberly Espinosa said that she was hired as a legal assistant to Epstein's company in 1996. She said she then changed roles to work as Ms Maxwell's executive assistant from November of 1996 until 2002.

“We were together just about every day,” she said.

Under questioning by Ms Maxwell's lawyer Christian Everdell, Ms Espinosa said that she worked with several other women who were receptionists or executive assistants to Epstein and Ms Maxwell.

Ms Espinosa said Ms Maxwell was a demanding boss but that she learnt a lot from her.

“I highly respected Ghislaine,” Ms Espinosa said. “I looked up to her very much.”

Ms Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to charges she acted as Epstein’s chief enabler, recruiting and grooming young girls for him to abuse during sexual massages.

Ms Maxwell was once Epstein’s girlfriend before becoming a trusted employee.

Witnesses gave evidence saying that the pair exploited them between 1994 and 2004 at Epstein’s luxury homes, including an estate in Palm Beach, Florida, his Manhattan town house and a ranch in New Mexico.

Defence lawyers have argued that Ms Maxwell is a “convenient stand in” for Epstein.

The start of the defence case already sparked the usual speculation about whether the high-profile accused will take the witness box in her own defence — a gamble that is almost never taken.

Either way, US District Judge Alison Nathan will have to receive direct confirmation from Ms Maxwell about her decision before the defence can rest.

She was once Epstein’s girlfriend before becoming a trusted employee.

The defence has insisted that Ms Maxwell is being made a scapegoat for alleged sex crimes by Epstein. Her lawyers have sought to show that the accusers exaggerated her involvement at the behest of lawyers seeking payouts for the women from civil claims against the Epstein estate.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

While you're here
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Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad. 

Updated: December 16, 2021, 6:17 PM
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