Newly released documents from the US Department of Justice suggest that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein closely monitored Saudi Arabia’s 2017 anti-corruption crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The documents include an email exchange from November 4, 2017, in which an unidentified person advised Epstein to watch the situation in Saudi Arabia. Epstein asked whether it was a missile attack or an anti-corruption campaign, and was told it was the latter. A newly published photograph also shows Epstein smiling beside the Saudi crown prince.

The crackdown, launched in early November 2017, saw numerous wealthy businessmen and royal family members detained at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel. While the crown prince described it as an anti-corruption effort, reports indicated that billions of dollars were extracted from detainees, and some who refused to pay were imprisoned. The Wall Street Journal reported that several detainees were physically mistreated.

The documents further indicate that Epstein was closely following Gulf region politics and had possible connections with senior Saudi officials. An earlier email exchange with a New York Times journalist also referenced Epstein’s claimed Saudi contacts, raising new questions about his international network.