Former President Mohamed Nasheed has denied reports that he was the Maldivian leader mentioned in leaked emails that showed convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had scheduled a meeting with a “former president of the Maldives” in New York in 2014.
The emails, leaked from former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s emails, included a message from Epstein dated 28 April 2014. In the message, Epstein wrote, “I have Peter Thiel on the 19th in NY, if you like, as well as the former President of the Maldives.” The email did not name the president, and it is not confirmed whether the meeting took place.
When asked about the reports, Nasheed denied any connection. Writing on X, he said, “No dear, never liked the man. Pls check the dates and you will see that I was nowhere near NY.”
Reports and social media posts from that period indicate Nasheed was in Malé in May 2014. The other living former presidents of the Maldives at the time were Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Mohamed Waheed Hassan.
The emails, which were leaked online earlier this week, are believed to have been released by a group of hackers with links to Iranian intelligence. More than 100,000 emails sent from Barak’s account from 2007 onwards were reportedly accessed.
Epstein was first investigated in 2005 on child molestation allegations. He was convicted in 2008 and sentenced to 18 months in prison, serving 13 months. He was arrested again in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges and died in prison in New York the following month.
Authorities said Epstein used several of his properties, including a mansion in Manhattan, to run a sex trafficking operation. It has not been confirmed whether the meeting referred to in the emails was held at the mansion or elsewhere.