Yet more financial ties between Leon Black and Jeffrey Epstein have been uncovered on top of the $158million he paid him for 'tax advice' and $62million he gave US Virgin Island prosecutors to avoid being involved in litigation against the late pedophile's estate.
A lengthy Air Mail investigation published this weekend also reveals that in 2015, Black donated $10million to Gratitude America, a charity run by Jeffrey Epstein with the vague mission of 'supporting the expression of gratitude for the ideals of America.'
It was the only donation the charity had received at the time despite having existed for three years.
In the same month, Guzel Ganieva - a Russian model who was Black's mistress - received the first of what was supposed to be many $100,000 monthly payments to stay quiet about their relationship.
Billionaire Leon Black paid Epstein $158million for 'tax advice' but also gave his charity $10million in 2015. It was the only donation the charity received
It came from a mysterious 'E trust', whereas all of the other money she'd received from Black was from his bank account.
In total, she was due to receive $20million from Black as part of their deal.
In exchange, she signed an NDA agreeing to never speak of their romance, which involved meet-ups at an Upper East Side apartment across the street from where Black lives with his wife, Debra, and their children.
Guzen Ganieva went public with rape claims against Black in 2021, six years after agreeing to an NDA deal that would have paid her $20million total
Ganieva was given extravagant cash gifts, a Steinway piano and treated to expensive evenings out with Black.
He had also agreed to help her obtain British legal status and was paying for her to go to college too.
In 2021, after Epstein's death and the #MeToo movement that took down Harvey Weinstein, who frequently transacted in NDAs with accusers, Ganieva went public with her rape and harassment allegations.
She first tweeted her claims, then - after he accused her of lying - sued for defamation.
In the lawsuit, she shared more details of their affair.
They had 'countless' meals out in Manhattan where she said he showed no regard or concern for his wife becoming aware of his infidelity.
She also described the alleged sexual abuse, though many of her specific claims were redacted.
She called Black a 'sadist' whose sexual proclivities were 'abnormal'.
Black publicly admitting his affair with Ganieva, which he called 'foolish', but he denied the rape allegations.
The case was eventually dismissed.
Ganieva's lawsuit is one of three to have been directed towards Black by a woman who says he raped her.
The other two, filed by Cheri Pierson in 2022 and a Jane Doe with mosaic Down syndrome who says he raped her when she was 16, are still being litigated. They both say the attacks happened at Jeffrey Epstein's mansion.
In 2016, a year after he gave Epstein's charity $10million and Ganieva received the first of her $100k payments from the 'E trust', money was transferred back from Epstein to Black, according to Air Mail.
It was in the form of a donation from Epstein's Gratitude America charity to Black's Melanoma research charity in the amount of $225,000.
Because Black was the sole donor to Epstein's charity, he effectively donated the funds to his own organization.
Black remains married to his wife Debra. The lawsuit filed by Ganieva claims he went to no effort to conceal his affairs from her
Black, once a high flyer in Manhattan society, has seen his reputation sullied by his many deep ties to Epstein. He is shown with Donald Trump in 1996 during a trip to Russia
There is also reference to an additional $5million Black is said to have donated to Gratitude America, but the only proof of it is in a letter of thanks from the charity, prompting questions of whether he did indeed pay the donation and, crucially, if he claimed it as a tax deduction.
Caribbean prosecutors say Epstein's criminal enterprise hinged on money stored in Southern Trust Company from 2013 to 2017.
The total was $158million - the same Black had given Epstein between 2012 and 2017.
Black's ties with Epstein are being more closely scrutinized now in light of not just the lawsuit filed by Jane Doe, but also the $158million he paid Epstein for 'tax advice'.
The Senate Finance Committee is investigating whether Black met his tax obligations through the payments.
Why Black - a titan of Wall Street with his own firm - would seek such advice from Epstein, whose own financial credentials were far less impressive, remains a mystery to many.
Black's representatives have always maintained that the payments were legitimate, that he trusted Epstein foolishly and that he was never involved in Epstein's sex trafficking of young girls.
He has been given until September 1 to cooperate with the Senate Finance Committee investigation.
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