Maxwell seeks $28.5m bail deal
Ghislaine Maxwell transferred all her assets to her husband after they married in a move that could protect most of her wealth from any claims lodged by alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein.
Her husband, Scott Borgerson, described the British socialite as a ‘‘loving person’’ as he appealed to a judge to approve a $28.5 million (NZ$40m) bail package.
The plea came as new allegations emerged about the Duke of York’s links with Epstein and a claim that the prince attended an ‘‘orgy’’ involving nine girls on the financier’s private island.
Maxwell, 58, who is in a New York jail awaiting trial on charges of recruiting three teenage girls for Epstein, revealed details of her finances in a bail application. She denies all allegations of wrongdoing. She secretly married Borgerson, 44, in 2016. They have agreed to a $22.5m bail bond with five additional bonds totalling $5m co-signed by seven of Maxwell’s close friends and family whose names are redacted in court papers.
A security specialist has pledged a further $1m towards the bail package and will provide armed security for Maxwell if released. The family members are reported to include her brothers. Two of her brothers, Ian and Kevin, were cleared of conspiring with their father, the media tycoon Robert Maxwell, to defraud the pension fund of Mirror Group Newspapers.
Maxwell’s financial manoeuvring protects much of her wealth from damages claims from women who allege she procured underage girls for Epstein.
Four of the charges against her relate to the years 1994 to 1997, when prosecutors claim that she helped Epstein groom teenage girls. The other two charges are allegations of perjury in 2016. She faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted after the trial, which will begin in July.
Borgerson, a technology entrepreneur, said in a letter to the court: ‘‘I have never witnessed anything close to inappropriate with Ghislaine. The Ghislaine I know is a wonderful and loving person. I believe Ghislaine had nothing to do with Epstein’s crimes.’’
The application for bail came as it was reported that Maxwell made arrangements for the Duke of York and a Scotland Yard protection officer to visit Epstein’s private island where the financier allegedly held sex parties in 2001. The reported that the duke ‘‘tore up long-standing official travel arrangements’’ involving Buckingham Palace and delayed the start of a family holiday with his former wife and their daughters so he could travel to Little St James Island. A spokeswoman for the Duke of York, who has denied any wrongdoing, declined to comment. –