Latest news with #RobertMaxwell
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Who was Robert Maxwell? Ghislaine Maxwell's father, who had alleged ties with KGB and Mossad
Ghislaine Maxwell, the notorious associate of Jeffrey Epstein, father, Robert Maxwell, influenced her world even though he had relationships with MI6, KGB, and Mossad. Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of late British publisher Robert Maxwell, reads a statement expressing her family's gratitude to Spanish authorities after the recovery of his body, Nov. 7, 1991, in Tenerife, Spain. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard, File)(AFP) Who is Robert Maxwell? Maxwell was born into a poor Jewish family in Czechoslovakia and was lucky to avoid the horror of the Holocaust and later make it to Britain. He made an impressive niche in his writings and media world, and secondly in politics. His academic publishing house, Pergamon Press, became a staple in American schools, though critics noted its textbooks had a clear pro-Israel tilt. Reflection of Maxwell's Zionist beliefs? In 1984, he bought the Daily Mirror and turned it into one of Britain's leading tabloids. ALSO READ| South Park skewers Trump over Epstein files, puts him in bed with Satan in blistering premiere episode Maxwell controlled an empire that included Maxwell Communication Corporation, Macmillan, Pergamon, and numerous other publishing interests. Interestingly, he was photographed alongside Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher, and US Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump. However, British officials reportedly suspected him of being more than just a powerful media baron. Whispers within the UK Foreign Office linked Maxwell to MI6, the Soviet KGB, and Israel's Mossad, working as a triple agent. He was said to have moved seamlessly between Washington, Moscow, and Jerusalem, trading information and influence. Robert Maxwell linked to PROMIS spyware scandal The worst claims involve him in the PROMIS software scandal. Promis is originally a US Department of Justice tool that was reportedly backdoor implanted by Israeli intelligence and sold to the rest of the world so that foreign intelligence could monitor it on a large scale. Former Israeli spy Ari Ben-Menashe claimed that 'Robert Maxwell' was the one who helped sell the doctored version of PROMIS to unsuspecting governments and corporations. Maxwell's power began to unravel in the early 1990s. It was discovered that he had raided £460 million from the Mirror Group's pension fund, money meant for his employees, to keep his collapsing empire afloat. The British public branded him 'Robber Bob.' His sons Ian and Kevin were later charged with fraud but were acquitted. ALSO READ| Epstein files row: Democrats win big amid Trump link reports; infamous logs could be out soon On 5 November 1991, Maxwell vanished from his luxury yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, off the Canary Islands. Hours later, his body was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean. Authorities ruled it a heart attack and accidental drowning. Ghislaine has maintained her belief that her father was murdered.
NDTV
6 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell's Father, Alleged Spy For Israel, UK And Russia
He sold textbooks to American schools. He mingled with kings, queens, presidents, and popes. And behind the scenes, he may have helped one of the world's most secretive intelligence agencies spy on half the globe. This is the story of Robert Maxwell, British media tycoon, alleged triple agent, and father of Ghislaine Maxwell. To some, he was a visionary; to others, a fraudster. To his daughter Ghislaine, whose later life became entangled with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, he was the one who opened the gates of high society and perhaps, unwittingly, the road to ruin. Born into poverty as a Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia, Robert Maxwell rose to become a British media tycoon whose empire rivalled Rupert Murdoch's. He founded Pergamon Press, an academic publishing house, supplying history and science textbooks across US schools. They were often criticised for promoting pro-Israel narratives aligned with Maxwell's staunch Zionism. In 1984, he acquired the Daily Mirror, transforming it into a tabloid behemoth. At his peak, he controlled Maxwell Communication Corp, Macmillan, Pergamon, and a fleet of global publications. His daughter Ghislaine was his golden child. She was educated at Oxford, polished for high society, and his frequent companion at events from London to New York. He was seen hobnobbing with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher, and even Mother Teresa. Photos also captured him beside US Presidents George W Bush and Donald Trump. Multiple sources report that UK Foreign Office suspected Maxwell as a double or triple agent, with ties to MI6, the Soviet KGB, and Israeli intelligence Mossad. Robert Maxwell moved between the White House, the Kremlin, Downing Street, and the leadership of France, Germany, and Israel. In the 1960s, he served two terms as a Labour MP for Buckingham while living a lavish lifestyle. At his Oxford estate, Headington Hall, he hosted extravagant parties that were rumoured to be used as honey traps to gather compromising information on powerful figures. Perhaps the most damning allegations link him to the PROMIS software scandal. Originally a US Department of Justice case management tool, PROMIS was allegedly stolen, doctored with an Israeli backdoor, and distributed to dozens of foreign intelligence agencies, militaries, and corporations, allowing Israel to spy on virtually every country that used it. Robert Maxwell, according to several whistleblowers including former Israeli spy Ari Ben-Menashe, was the global salesman of this digital Trojan horse. Maxwell's final years were plagued by financial ruin. Following his death, investigators found a 460 million Pounds black hole in the Mirror Group pension fund. He siphoned off his own employees' retirement savings to prop up his debt-ridden empire. His sons, Ian and Kevin Maxwell, were arrested and charged with fraud (though later acquitted), and the British public raged over the betrayal of thousands of pensioners. Maxwell went from magnate to villain overnight. Protestors called him "Robber Bob." On November 5, 1991, Maxwell disappeared from his 180-foot yacht off the Canary Islands. He was found dead hours later, floating face up in the ocean. Officially, it was a heart attack and accidental drowning. His daughter believed he was murdered. An autopsy revealed that Maxwell had been suffering from serious heart and lung conditions at the time of his death. He was given a state funeral in Israel, attended by then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and multiple intelligence officials.
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The moment Jeffrey Epstein's twisted love affair with Ghislaine Maxwell was captured for the first time, as starry-eyed couple are seen at Trump's Plaza Hotel gala
It was the twisted, toxic relationship at the heart of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Ghislaine Maxwell 's affair with the pedophile wasn't just love - it was also wealth, power and security. And for Epstein, it meant access to her elite network of royalty, billionaires and influential figures. And it appears it all began in 1991 at then real estate magnate Donald Trump 's Plaza Hotel, when the starry-eyed couple, Epstein, 38, and Maxwell, 30, sat side-by-side at a gala event honoring socialite Maxwell's scion father Robert and his wife Elisabeth can exclusively reveal. That was the first of many intimate photos of the couple, many released by prosecutors during her 2021 child sex trafficking trial showed them arm in arm as they lived a glamorous, jet-setting lifestyle. But other photos hinted at the darker undercurrents to their relationship: in one Maxwell holds Epstein's foot and massages it while her top is open, exposing much of her breasts. In another shot, taken on Epstein's plane known as the 'Lolita Express', Maxwell grins at the camera with his foot in her hand while he looks bored and chats with a friend. Foot massages were how Maxwell and Epstein would start their victims down their path that led to sexual abuse and rape. And the fact that Maxwell was giving them to her boyfriend illustrates the complicated dynamics that brought them together. The Epstein case has returned to the headlines after the bombshell July 7 memo by the Trump administration claiming there was no signs of him blackmailing anyone and that nobody else would be investigated. The memo, from the Department of Justice and the FBI, also said that there was no 'client list' and no further evidence would be released. Future disclosures could shed fresh light on Maxwell, 63, and Epstein, who was 66 when he died, but the public record already gives us plenty of insight into how they created an international sex trafficking operation. They appear to have met at a time when Epstein was still making a name for himself. In 1987, Epstein was hired to work at Towers Financial which would collapse six years later after being exposed as a $450million Ponzi scheme. Epstein would walk away unscathed and fabulously wealthy. The co-founder of the company, Steven Hoffenberg, went to prison for 18 years. By Hoffenberg's account - he died in 2022 but gave numerous interviews before his death - Epstein and Maxwell were introduced by her father, Robert, the late publishing baron, as early as 1988. A BBC documentary, House of Maxwell, alleged that Epstein helped Robert Maxwell hide hundreds of millions of dollars he had stolen from his company's pension funds. Maxwell and Epstein were an unlikely pair: he was rough around the edges, having grown up in South Brooklyn and dropped out of college. She was a British socialite who attended Oxford University and grew up in extreme privilege in a 56-room mansion. But as Robert Maxwell's biographer Tom Bower has put it, when Maxwell met Epstein her 'fate was sealed'. He has said: 'She worshipped rich, domineering men.' Whatever bond the couple had been cemented in 1991 when tragedy struck: Robert Maxwell died after falling off his yacht in the Canary Islands under mysterious circumstances. Ghislaine was bereft: she was his father's favorite, and he was said to be 'unusually close' to her, even naming his yacht, Lady Ghislaine, after her. Public disgrace soon followed when it emerged $500million had been looted from the pensions of Robert Maxwell's companies, which included numerous British newspapers and the New York Daily News. Maxwell needed an escape, and she needed a protector - she needed Epstein. As journalist and Epstein chronicler Vicky Ward has put it: 'He saved her. When her father died, she was a wreck; inconsolable. And then Jeffrey took her in. She's never forgotten that - and never will.' Just 19 days after Maxwell's father's death, she was photographed at the Plaza Hotel in New York at a memorial for him - with hungry eyes locked on Epstein. Few others in the room seemed to matter to Maxwell, who was in a blue silk jacket while Epstein was in a white bow tie and with a large grin on his face. What followed was a romance that allowed Maxwell to retain her life of privilege and luxury and, through her contacts, gave Epstein access to the world's elite. She and Epstein traveled around on his fleet of private jets to his lavish homes in Palm Beach, Florida, New Mexico, New York and later his private island in the US Virgin Islands. During Maxwell's later trial for sex trafficking, Juan Alessi, the house manager at Epstein's Palm Beach home from 1992 to 2002, called Maxwell the 'lady of the house'. He said: 'From the day she came to the house, she right away took over, and she mentioned to me she was going to be the lady of the house. Also, she was in charge of other homes, other properties.' From the outside, their life must have seemed impossibly glamorous. Photos from this time show them partying with the likes of Donald Trump: a video from 1992 shows Epstein doubling over while the President says something about a woman while the pair were at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate. Bill Clinton flew numerous times on Epstein's planes including a bizarre trip to Africa 2002 for humanitarian work with Maxwell on board, along with Kevin Spacey and the comedian Chris Tucker. Britain's Prince Andrew visited Epstein multiple times including visits in 2010 when he allegedly had sex with 17-year-old victim Virginia Giuffre. The photos released during Maxwell's trial showed the couple photographed together at Balmoral, the late Queen Elizabeth II's residence in Scotland, in 1999, after being invited there by Andrew. Others showed them on what appeared to be a ski holiday: he is in a red jumpsuit while she is in a thick sweater. In one such photo, Epstein appears to put his hand on Maxwell's belly, which during her trial prompted speculation she had become pregnant. Another photo could - with a different set of models - be a Ralph Lauren advert as it shows Epstein in a tweed jacket and Maxwell sitting next to him, a large dog between them. Other photos show Maxwell sitting on the back of a 4x4 with Epstein driving and another showing her nuzzling her nose into the cheek of Epstein, who is wearing a black tie. In October 2002, Maxwell wrote a love letter about their relationship which was used as evidence by prosecutors. Speaking in the third person, she wrote: 'Jeffrey and Ghislaine have been together, a couple for the last 11 years. They are, contrary to what many people think, rarely apart – I almost always see them together. 'Jeffrey and Ghislaine share many mutual interests and they have a lot of fun together. They both have keen searching and inquisitive minds. 'She grew up amongst scientists and in an academic and business environment. Jeffrey and Ghislaine complement each other really well and I cannot imagine one without the other. On top of being great partners, they are also the best of friends.' During this time, the sky, it seemed, was the limit - but there were no limits to Epstein's appetite for underage girls. Maxwell's job was to find them for him. Speaking in 2020, Epstein survivor Maria Farmer, described how Maxwell would hunt for children while driving through the streets of New York. Farmer said: 'Who would think this woman would be a British witch? She was so nice. 'I'd seen her drive up half of Central Park, tell the driver to stop the car, she would jump out. She would get a phone number, write it down, and give it to the kids. Everybody always loved her because she seemed so trustworthy.' Giuffre, who tragically committed suicide in April aged 41, had said that Maxwell 'had a knack for it', referring to recruiting girls. She said: 'She would be able to figure out what that possible victim wanted or needed. 'Because she looked like a nice Mary Poppins figure you had to trust her.' At one point, Maxwell even berated Giuffre for not doing a good enough job. According to Giuffre, Maxwell told her: 'I just can't believe how bad you are at it. Pick any girl in the square.' Giuffre said: 'There was no sorrow or even you're doing something wrong you shouldn't do it, there was nothing like that, it was just a game to her.' Part of what made Maxwell able to do it was that she viewed Epstein's victims as beneath her, as one report put it, that they were 'trash'. Maxwell's devotion to the deceased pedophile extended so far that she would drive by Central Park and pick out girls for him to satiate his desire to have sex at least three times a day During Maxwell's trial 'Kate', one of the four women who testified against her, said that Maxwell asked her to find others to give oral sex to Epstein 'because it was a lot for her (Maxwell) to do'. Kate said Maxwell told her: 'You know what he likes: cute, young, pretty, like you.' According to Maxwell, Epstein needed to have sex three times a day, hence the need to schedule dozens of 'massages' every week. The stress appears to have gotten to her at times and Epstein's former housekeeper in Palm Beach, Juan Alessi, has claimed that Maxwell once told him: 'I hate him (Epstein) but I can't leave.' Not that Maxwell was suffering - or broke. She was living in a Manhattan mansion with 12 rooms, eight fireplaces and 7,000 square feet of space that Epstein bought in 2000 for just under $5million. Maxwell later took ownership of the property, which was six blocks from Epstein's home, and sold it in 2016 for $15million. During Maxwell's trial the jury was shown financial records which showed Epstein moved more than $30million to Maxwell's accounts from 1999 to 2007. For Maxwell, crime certainly paid. Epstein and Maxwell appear to have sought distance from each other in 2006 when he was investigated by police in Palm Beach, Florida. That led to his sweetheart plea deal in 2008 where he admitted soliciting a minor for prostitution and served 15 months in prison. Maxwell began dating Ted Waitt, the billionaire co-founder of Gateway Computers but Epstein kept her close and he helped to found her do nothing ocean conservation nonprofit, TerraMar, in 2012. By 2013, Maxwell had moved on to Scott Borgerson, a dashing former US Coast Guard officer, whom she would later marry. In the first known and only photo of them together, Maxwell, who was 14 years Borgerson's senior, smiles broadly. Her future husband's wedding ring from his first marriage was clearly visible. By all accounts, Maxwell lived what appeared to be a normal life, becoming a stepmother of sorts to Borgerson's two children while she fought off a growing wave of civil lawsuits from her victims. They lived in a $2.4million waterfront home in Manchester-by-the-Sea in Massachusetts where Maxwell, a keen jogger, would go for runs and enjoy swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. All of that changed in August 2019 when Epstein was arrested. Inexplicably, Maxwell, who has citizenship in France, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the US, decided to stay put in America. That meant she became target number one for the FBI after Epstein's suicide in September 2019. Maxwell went on trial in 2021 and was found guilty of conspiracy to entice and transport minors for sex acts, as well as sex trafficking of a minor. She is currently serving her 20 year sentence at a federal prison in Florida, where she reportedly has become friends with a double murderer. In hindsight, Epstein's final act wasn't just a middle finger to his victims, it also sealed the fate of the woman who had once deeply loved him.
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
What to know about Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend
Once a British socialite who lived a life of luxury, Ghislaine Maxwell today is confined in a U.S. prison after being convicted of helping financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Now, three years after she was sentenced, a top U.S. Department of Justice official plans to personally interview Maxwell to find out if she has information about anyone who has committed crimes against Epstein's victims. It isn't clear what Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche might learn from the meeting. Maxwell has long claimed she is innocent and had no knowledge that Epstein, or anyone else, was sexually abusing teenagers. Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires. President Donald Trump has suggested in the past there was a cover-up. Now his administration is dealing with the fallout after the Justice Department initially announced two weeks ago that it would not release any more evidence about the Epstein investigation. The department has since changed course, at Trump's urging. Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? She grew up as the daughter of the late British billionaire Robert Maxwell, a former member of Parliament whose publishing empire included the Daily Mirror, one of Britain's biggest tabloid newspapers, and the book publisher Macmillan. As a college student, she became close friends with Britain's Prince Andrew, who would later invite her to royal residences, including Windsor Castle. But the Maxwell family was shattered by scandal. After Robert Maxwell fell from his yacht and died in 1991, investigators accused him of embezzling huge sums of money from his companies' pension funds. Soon after her father's death, Ghislaine Maxwell was photographed at a memorial sitting next to Epstein, an American money manager. Maxwell dated Epstein but later also became his employee, taking on a variety of tasks, including hiring staff for his six homes. How did Ghislaine Maxwell help Epstein? Part of Maxwell's household duties included hiring a steady stream of young people to give massages to Epstein. 'As far as I'm concerned, everyone who came to his house was an adult professional person,' she said in a deposition nearly a decade ago. But police and prosecutors said many of those 'masseuses' were underage girls who were paid for sexual acts. Epstein was arrested in 2006 in Palm Beach, Florida, after multiple girls, including students from a local high school, spoke to police. But he ultimately pleaded guilty in 2008 to a single charge of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and served 13 months in jail. Maxwell wasn't charged until 2021. At her trial, four women testified that Maxwell groomed them as teenagers to participate in sexual acts with Epstein and sometimes participated in the abuse. Maxwell's lawyers argued that the women's recollections had been manipulated by lawyers pursuing civil lawsuits, pointing to inconsistencies in their testimony. A jury convicted Maxwell of sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity. Why do investigators want to talk to Maxwell now? The Justice Department's request to talk with Maxwell comes at a time when it is dealing with backlash from some of President Donald Trump's supporters, some of whom believe there has been a government cover-up to protect Epstein's rich and powerful friends from being implicated in his crimes. The department asked a judge last week to unseal transcripts of the grand jury sessions that led to indictments against Epstein and Maxwell. The Justice Department said in a memo that it had not uncovered evidence to charge anyone else in connection with Epstein's abuse. But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on social media that 'if Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.' He said he anticipated meeting with Maxwell in the coming days. Will she talk? It remains to be seen. One of her lawyers, David Oscar Markus, said Tuesday that they were in discussions with the government. 'Ghislaine will always testify truthfully,' he said in the statement. Maxwell did not testify at her trial but gave two lengthy depositions years ago. She repeatedly said that one of Epstein's accusers, who claimed he had trafficked her to powerful men, including Prince Andrew, was a liar who fabricated her story. Where is Ghislaine Maxwell now? Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is currently at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. Her attorneys have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after a lower court upheld her convictions last fall. ___
Associated Press
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
What to know about Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend
Once a British socialite who lived a life of luxury, Ghislaine Maxwell today is confined in a U.S. prison after being convicted of helping financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Now, three years after she was sentenced, a top U.S. Department of Justice official plans to personally interview Maxwell to find out if she has information about anyone who has committed crimes against Epstein's victims. It isn't clear what Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche might learn from the meeting. Maxwell has long claimed she is innocent and had no knowledge that Epstein, or anyone else, was sexually abusing teenagers. Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires. President Donald Trump has suggested in the past there was a cover-up. Now his administration is dealing with the fallout after the Justice Department initially announced two weeks ago that it would not release any more evidence about the Epstein investigation. The department has since changed course, at Trump's urging. Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? She grew up as the daughter of the late British billionaire Robert Maxwell, a former member of Parliament whose publishing empire included the Daily Mirror, one of Britain's biggest tabloid newspapers, and the book publisher Macmillan. As a college student, she became close friends with Britain's Prince Andrew, who would later invite her to royal residences, including Windsor Castle. But the Maxwell family was shattered by scandal. After Robert Maxwell fell from his yacht and died in 1991, investigators accused him of embezzling huge sums of money from his companies' pension funds. Soon after her father's death, Ghislaine Maxwell was photographed at a memorial sitting next to Epstein, an American money manager. Maxwell dated Epstein but later also became his employee, taking on a variety of tasks, including hiring staff for his six homes. How did Ghislaine Maxwell help Epstein? Part of Maxwell's household duties included hiring a steady stream of young people to give massages to Epstein. 'As far as I'm concerned, everyone who came to his house was an adult professional person,' she said in a deposition nearly a decade ago. But police and prosecutors said many of those 'masseuses' were underage girls who were paid for sexual acts. Epstein was arrested in 2006 in Palm Beach, Florida, after multiple girls, including students from a local high school, spoke to police. But he ultimately pleaded guilty in 2008 to a single charge of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and served 13 months in jail. Maxwell wasn't charged until 2021. At her trial, four women testified that Maxwell groomed them as teenagers to participate in sexual acts with Epstein and sometimes participated in the abuse. Maxwell's lawyers argued that the women's recollections had been manipulated by lawyers pursuing civil lawsuits, pointing to inconsistencies in their testimony. A jury convicted Maxwell of sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity. Why do investigators want to talk to Maxwell now? The Justice Department's request to talk with Maxwell comes at a time when it is dealing with backlash from some of President Donald Trump's supporters, some of whom believe there has been a government cover-up to protect Epstein's rich and powerful friends from being implicated in his crimes. The department asked a judge last week to unseal transcripts of the grand jury sessions that led to indictments against Epstein and Maxwell. The Justice Department said in a memo that it had not uncovered evidence to charge anyone else in connection with Epstein's abuse. But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on social media that 'if Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.' He said he anticipated meeting with Maxwell in the coming days. Will she talk? It remains to be seen. One of her lawyers, David Oscar Markus, said Tuesday that they were in discussions with the government. 'Ghislaine will always testify truthfully,' he said in the statement. Maxwell did not testify at her trial but gave two lengthy depositions years ago. She repeatedly said that one of Epstein's accusers, who claimed he had trafficked her to powerful men, including Prince Andrew, was a liar who fabricated her story. Where is Ghislaine Maxwell now? Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is currently at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. Her attorneys have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after a lower court upheld her convictions last fall. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein case at
