Epstein files reveal references to Welsh town

Amelia Jones

Documents released by the US Department of Justice as part of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation have revealed unexpected references to a charming Welsh town.

The references were first reported on by The Abergavenny Chronicle, which found that the Monmouthshire town of Abergavenny appears in both email correspondence and financial records linked to Epstein and his long-time associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

The information was revealed among documents released through court proceedings and Justice Department disclosures connected to Epstein’s sex-trafficking case.

They include email correspondence, travel information, financial records and investigative materials that provide insight into Epstein’s personal and business dealings, many of which extended internationally.

Emails dated August 2011 show Maxwell, writing under the alias ‘Gmax,’ appears to reference travelling through Abergavenny while discussing onward plans to visit the Caribbean.

Following a series of earlier messages between the pair, Maxwell writes: “How’s Paris or you in Caribbean? Am going mustique sunday via abergavenny…” [sic].

Epstein replies simply: “Paris.”

Maxwell then follows up with a further message asking: “And are you not remotely Curious as to Abergerveny?? or are us so wordly to know Ans threrfore To polite to ask?” [sic].

Epstein does not respond to the question and instead replies later in exchange to an unrelated message.

The documents also include a bank statement from one of Epstein’s accounts dated June 2004 which references Abergavenny’s NatWest branch.

The statement indicates that $25,000 was transferred from Epstein’s JPMorgan account through UK banks, with the Abergavenny branch appearing as an originating or intermediary institution.

The destination listed as HSBC Private Bank in London, with the name of the former Labour cabinet minister Lord Peter Mandelson appearing as a transaction reference.

This document does not show that Epstein personally sent money to Mandelson, nor that he received the funds.

Lord Mandelson has previously said he has no recollection of receiving such a payment.

Tim Butters, writing for the Abergavenny Chronicle shared: “There are no more documents on this particular email exchange, but questions abound as to why Maxwell felt the need to tell Epstein she was stopping off at a small market town in Wales on her way to an exclusive 14,000-acre private island in the Caribbean that has long been the haunt of the ultra-wealthy, royalty, and celebrities.

“It is interesting that she also asks why Epstein is not curious about Abergavenny. What is there to be curious about? And why would he be too “worldly” and “polite” to ask why she was visiting the town?”

No further documents in the release explain why Abergavenny is referenced, and the files do not suggest any wrongdoing connected to the town itself. The significance of the mentions remain unclear.