The Russian Thread No One Pulled: Jeffrey Epstein, FSB Ties, and the Global Silence
For all the headlines that Jeffrey Epstein generated: the sex trafficking ring, the billionaire connections, the intelligence rumors….one thread remains conspicuously underreported: his deep, sustained, and suspicious ties to Russia.
While much of the media focused on his links to American elites, Epstein quietly maintained relationships with Russian officials, diplomats, and Eastern European women, all under the radar. And though some foreign intelligence services—particularly MI6—took notice, the U.S. public was left largely in the dark.
1. Epstein and the Russian Power Circuit
According to a 2023 investigation by the Dossier Center, Epstein maintained an active working relationship with Sergei Belyakov, a former Deputy Minister of Economic Development in Russia and a graduate of the FSB Academy.
Belyakov wasn’t just a bureaucrat. He ran the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Foundation (SPIEF), a state-sponsored platform frequently used for geopolitical influence. Epstein worked with Belyakov to recruit American speakers to SPIEF, even while Russia was under Western sanctions for the Crimea invasion.
More disturbingly, the Dossier Center uncovered that Epstein and Belyakov jointly resolved a blackmail case involving a Russian model and U.S. businessmen. This wasn’t a tangential relationship—it was active, strategic, and involved manipulation of high-level contacts.
Sources: Dossier Center, Los Angeles Times
2. MI6 Takes Notice
These ties didn’t go unnoticed in London. During Epstein’s frequent travel to the UK and Europe, British intelligence (MI6) reportedly monitored his activity. Epstein’s links to Russian nationals, his contacts with Russian diplomats, and the suspicious nature of his model recruitment patterns raised flags.
One source of concern was Epstein’s relationship with Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, who met Epstein several times between 2015–2017. When Churkin died suddenly in New York in February 2017, Epstein sent an email to Peter Thiel lamenting, “As you read my Russian ambassador friend died.”
That phrasing—"my Russian ambassador friend"—set off alarms. Why was Epstein meeting with Kremlin diplomats during one of the tensest moments in U.S.-Russia relations?
Additionally, from 2014 to 2016, Gina Haspel, who would later become CIA Director, was stationed as CIA Chief of Station in London. During that same period, Christopher Steele, a former MI6 officer, was compiling what became known as the Steele dossier—which famously alleged that Russian intelligence possessed kompromat on Donald Trump, including claims that Russian prostitutes were used to blackmail him.
The overlapping timing and geography—Epstein in London, Haspel at CIA London, Steele with MI6 contacts, and Epstein's known interactions with Russian models—have led some observers to ask whether intelligence agencies were tracking or leveraging Epstein’s network far more than they’ve admitted.
Source: Vanity Fair, Wikipedia, Steele Dossier (BuzzFeed, 2017)
3. Deutsche Bank and the Russian Models
In 2020, Deutsche Bank paid a $150 million fine to New York regulators for compliance failures involving Epstein. Regulators found Epstein continued to send significant payments to Russian models and publicity agents—even as late as 2017. Despite internal red flags, these transactions were waved through.
The structure of these payments, including repeated wire transfers and cash withdrawals below reporting thresholds, mirrored classic intelligence tradecraft—money movement with plausible deniability.
Source: Reuters
4. The Unger Thesis: American Kompromat
In his book American Kompromat, investigative journalist Craig Unger takes the case further, arguing that Epstein was likely operating as a freelance kompromat broker, possibly for the CIA, Russian intelligence, or both.
Unger points to several patterns:
Epstein’s close ties to Ghislaine Maxwell, whose father Robert Maxwell was an alleged double agent with known KGB contacts.
Epstein’s honeytrap infrastructure—used not just for pleasure but to entrap powerful men in compromising situations, possibly on camera.
His access to intelligence-adjacent power players like Ehud Barak, Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, and Les Wexner—many of whom were either linked to state intelligence agencies or closely monitored by them.
Unger suggests that Epstein’s interactions with Russian models were not just for gratification but were likely part of a larger strategy to collect information on American elites that could be bartered, traded, or leaked.
Source: Craig Unger, "American Kompromat" (2021)
5. Why No One Talked About It
For all the noise around Epstein, his Russian ties have been largely ignored by mainstream media and even congressional investigations. The Steele dossier—based on unverified Russian sources—received wall-to-wall coverage. But the fact that Epstein met with the UN Ambassador of Russia, wired money to Russian nationals flagged by Deutsche Bank, and coordinated with a Russian intelligence-trained official? Barely a blip.
Notably, on May 19, 2019, Attorney General William Barr appointed John Durham to investigate the origins of the Russia collusion probe. Just weeks later, on July 6, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in New Jersey. The proximity of these dates has fueled speculation about deeper layers of intelligence interplay, surveillance, or silencing.
This silence may be by design.
Some suspect that exposing Epstein’s Russian connections could:
Undermine the narrative of Epstein as purely a domestic predator.
Highlight failures by U.S. and allied intelligence services to act earlier.
Uncover deeper entanglements involving intelligence operations in New York, and London that neither side wants publicly aired.
Conclusion
Jeffrey Epstein was many things—predator, socialite, manipulator. But he was also a man who moved in the shadows of intelligence, finance, and diplomacy. His ties to Russia were real, his contacts with FSB-linked officials were active, and his inner circle included women with clear Eastern Bloc connections.
We may never know who Epstein truly worked for. But the Russia thread? It wasn’t a conspiracy. It was real. And everyone—MI6, Wall Street banks, and likely Langley—knew about it.
The real question isn’t whether Epstein had Russian ties. It’s why no one pulled that thread until it disappeared. And what involvement did the CIA station boss and later CIA director have in any of this. From Epstein to MI6 to Christopher Steele to Russia collusion?
Footnotes & Sources
Dossier Center Investigation: https://dossier.center/jeffreyepsteinrusconnect-en/
Reuters - Deutsche Bank fine: https://www.reuters.com/article/business/epstein-red-flags-russian-models-land-deutsche-bank-150-million-fine-idUSKBN2481WA
Vanity Fair - Churkin, Thiel, and Epstein: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/08/jeffrey-epstein-tried-weasel-into-donald-trumps-political-orbit
Craig Unger, American Kompromat (2021)
Alliance for Securing Democracy: https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/hamilton-2-0-analysis-3-why-the-jeffrey-epstein-saga-was-the-russian-government-funded-medias-top-story-of-2019/
Steele Dossier (2017): https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3259984-Trump-Intelligence-Allegations.html
DOJ appointment of Durham: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-william-p-barr-appoints-us-attorney-john-durham-review-origins-russia
Epstein arrest timeline: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/06/nyregion/jeffrey-epstein-arrested.html