Jeffrey Epstein made $75,000 (£55,000) of payments to accounts connected to Lord Mandelson, bank statements released by the US Department of Justice suggest.
Between 2003 and 2004, Epstein appears to have sent three separate $25,000 payments referencing Lord Mandelson.
The payments appear as part of millions of documents released on Friday relating to late sex offender Epstein, the largest number shared by the US government since a law mandated their release last year.
Lord Mandelson said he had no record or recollection of receiving the sums and did not know whether the documents were authentic
He reiterated his regret for “ever having known Epstein” and for continuing his association following the disgraced financier’s conviction, apologising “unequivocally to the women and girls who suffered”.
Images of the former UK ambassador to the US in his underwear have also been uncovered in the latest tranche of Epstein files.
In a redacted pictures, he is seen standing next to a female, whose face is not visible.
He has said he “cannot place the location or the woman and I cannot think what the circumstances were”.
It is not known he said. when or where the images of Lord Mandelson and the female were taken.
Being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing.
The recently released bank statements, appear to show three separate payments referencing Lord Mandelson, who was Labour MP for Hartlepool at the time, being sent from Epstein’s JP Morgan bank accounts.
The first, dated 14 May 2003, shows a payment was sent to a Barclays bank account where Reinaldo Avila da Silva – Lord Mandelson’s partner at the time – is named as “A/C”, typically an abbreviation for account.
In that payment, a “Peter Mandelson” is named on the account as “BEN”, which is often an abbreviation for beneficiary.
The second and third payments of $25,000 were made to HSBC accounts only days apart in June 2004. In both, “Peter Mandelson” is the only person named, again as “BEN”.
It is unclear if the three payments ever made it into any of the named accounts.
Da Silva, who married Lord Mandelson in 2023, appears elsewhere in the most recent Epstein release.
Asked for a response to da Silva’s loan, Lord Mandelson said he had been “very clear” about his relationship with Epstein in interviews with the BBC.
“I have nothing more to add,” he said.
By Anthony Solly
