Raafat Alsabbagh

The documentary record begins on May 17, 2016, when Alsabbagh sent Epstein a thank-you note after visiting Epstein's Manhattan townhouse (EFTA02353684): "Thank you very much for your hospitality. It was my great pleasure to meet you at your beautiful house specially the (GYM) area. I am looking forward to continue our coversation and laughters in New York." This first-meeting note establishes Alsabbagh as a new contact, not a longstanding associate.

Within two weeks Epstein moved to deepen the relationship. In June 2016, Epstein told Alsabbagh he could introduce him to "obamas former counsel for the past 5 years" (EFTA02461943) — Kathryn Ruemmler, then a partner at Latham & Watkins — describing her as "a good friend if you would like to meet. she is in wash today" (EFTA02461943). The same month Epstein extended the offer to Alsabbagh's Saudi principal, writing on June 2, 2016: "If Mohammed really wants to see the future, after seeing the past in Washington with Obama, we should take him to see the Laboratory at MIT — advanced robotics, Artificial Intelligence" (EFTA02639071). The unnamed Mohammed is the same prince referenced later as 'the prince' in Epstein's market-tutoring offer, and consistent with documentary context, likely MBS.

By October 2016 — five months into the relationship — Epstein had arranged for Ruemmler to meet both Alsabbagh and Aziza Alahmadi simultaneously: "kathy will see you both in new york on the weekend" (EFTA02447907). On October 2, 2016, Epstein formalized the introduction in writing: "kathy - raafat, raafat - kathy", with Alahmadi CC'd (EFTA02449625).

After Epstein's Riyadh visit in November 2016 — which Alsabbagh arranged (EFTA02448271: Epstein had been requesting an official invitation letter since October 18, noting it would be "the fourth time I arrange my schedule") — Epstein introduced Alsabbagh to Ken Starr on November 26, 2016: "Ken-Raafat, Raafat-Ken" (EFTA02668843). Starr was then a Kirkland & Ellis partner and former Independent Counsel who had also served on Epstein's defense team (EFTA02668843). The timing of the Starr introduction immediately after the Riyadh trip parallels the Ruemmler introduction: each interaction with the Saudi side was followed by an introduction to a prominent U.S. figure.

The November 2016 Riyadh visit, documented across multiple emails (EFTA02448271, EFTA02459671), is the most direct evidence of Alsabbagh's functional role. Epstein had been pursuing the trip since at least October 18, 2016, and Alsabbagh was the person responsible for obtaining the formal invitation (EFTA02448271). The trip occurred during the week of the U.S. presidential election, a period of elevated documented activity in the Gulf state thread of the Epstein network, with approximately 30% of all findings in the October–December 2016 period belonging to that thread.

In a separate undated email (EFTA02459671), Epstein wrote to Alsabbagh that "the prince might want to set aside some real time — to take private tutoring from me, on markets how they work — i can explain everything in easy to understand terms, totally private so no embarassment" This offer — private, confidential financial tutoring for a Saudi royal — represented one form of value Epstein offered the Saudi side: confidential financial guidance delivered outside any institutional channel.

By October 2017, Alsabbagh's role as Epstein's credential with the Saudi court was sufficiently established that Epstein used him by name when pitching himself to the UAE ruler. In a message to intermediary David Stern on October 3, 2017, Epstein wrote: "i suggest you tell MBZ that he should meet with me about digital currency, he can check my name with mohammed bin rashid from dubai (sultan suleiman,) or MBS (raafat friend)" (EFTA02664708). In effect, Epstein was proposing that MBZ verify his credentials through MBS via Alsabbagh. This suggests Epstein regarded his connection to MBS, mediated by Alsabbagh, as credible enough to serve as an introduction to a different Gulf head of state.

Across ten DOJ documents (EFTA02639071, EFTA02449625, and others), Epstein addressed Alsabbagh and Aziza Alahmadi as co-recipients on the same emails, treating them as a unit rather than independent contacts. The content of those emails was consistently Saudi financial and political intelligence: Saudi bond issuance warnings (EFTA02455101: "I understand the kingdom is coming to market with approx ¹ billion in bonds in september — politics will play a great role — careful"), Saudi bankruptcy risk (EFTA02447885), 9/11 families' lawsuit against Saudi Arabia (EFTA02656241), a Doha bank CEO's commentary on Saudi debt (EFTA02449910), and Tom Barrack's role in the Trump inauguration (EFTA02663993, EFTA02664708).

The Barrack inauguration emails are the clearest example of the intelligence function. On January 6, 2017, Sultan Bin Sulayem (DP World chairman, UAE) asked Epstein whether to accept Barrack's inauguration invitation (EFTA02663993). Epstein replied with a CNN article (EFTA02663993), then the same day sent that article to Alahmadi and Alsabbagh. Three days later he sent a Los Angeles Times piece on Barrack and the inauguration to Alahmadi, Alsabbagh, and Terje Rod-Larsen as a group (EFTA02664708). The result was that the same U.S. political intelligence reached a Saudi pair and a Norwegian diplomat on the same day.

The pairing of Alsabbagh and Alahmadi appears to have been functional rather than coincidental. Alahmadi handled logistics (she followed up on Epstein's Riyadh trip from the Saudi side, asking about a tent for Epstein's island on November 16, 2016: "hope you enjoyed your staying in Riyadh" (EFTA02325450)), while Alsabbagh held the relationship with the royal court and arranged the formal invitation. Based on the available correspondence, the two functions — institutional access and logistical support — appear to have been divided between them, directed at the same target.

Alsabbagh's documented connections run through Epstein to five identifiable individuals and one structural network position.

Jeffrey Epstein — primary relationship, ten months of documented email correspondence (May 2016–January 2017 in the DOJ corpus, with continued grouping through January 2018) (EFTA02353684 through EFTA02664708). Epstein was the active party in the relationship: he offered introductions, forwarded intelligence, proposed market tutoring, and used Alsabbagh's name with the Saudi court in other contexts (EFTA02461943, EFTA02459671).

Aziza Alahmadi — Saudi co-recipient across ten documents. Alsabbagh and Alahmadi were addressed as a unit and appear to have had overlapping but distinct roles within the same access channel (EFTA02449625).

Kathryn Ruemmler — introduced by Epstein in June 2016 and formally connected on October 2, 2016 with Alahmadi CC'd. Ruemmler was then a Latham & Watkins partner and former Obama White House Counsel (EFTA02461943). The introduction placed her at the nexus of Epstein's Saudi, UAE, and Qatar client brokering simultaneously: she was introduced to Alsabbagh (Saudi) in October 2016 and separately connected to other Gulf-linked figures in subsequent months (EFTA02449625).

Ken Starr — introduced on November 26, 2016, the day after Epstein's return from Riyadh. Starr was a Kirkland & Ellis partner who had also served on Epstein's defense team (EFTA02668843). His introduction to Alsabbagh immediately post-Riyadh follows the same pattern of post-visit introductions seen with Ruemmler (EFTA02668843).

Jabor Al Thani — connected through shared Gulf network groupings. Alsabbagh and Jabor appear together in Epstein's January 2018 'radical breakthrough' contacts list alongside Sultan Bin Sulayem and Anas Alrasheed, and both received signed copies of Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury dispatched from Paris in January 2018 (EFTA02540965). The connection to Jabor is documented via EFTA02236300.

Anas Alrasheed — co-listed with Alsabbagh in the Gulf quartet grouping. Alrasheed appears elsewhere in the corpus as a Saudi political contact and Qatar blockade intelligence source. The two men appear to have operated in parallel Saudi channels without direct documented contact with each other (EFTA02540965).

Terje Rod-Larsen — co-recipient of the January 9, 2017 Tom Barrack inauguration email alongside Alahmadi and Alsabbagh. The three-country distribution (Saudi Arabia, Norway) of a single U.S. political intelligence item in one day is the clearest documentation of Epstein's simultaneous multi-channel distribution function (EFTA02664708).

On September 23, 2016, Alsabbagh forwarded Epstein an article about a Russian beauty queen who had auctioned her virginity in Dubai Epstein replied: "finally you send me something worthwhile — this is a russian bond offering" (EFTA02450831).

The evidentiary value of this exchange is narrow but specific: it shows Alsabbagh was aware of the type of content Epstein found interesting and chose to send it to him. Epstein's response — framing the article in financial terms — is consistent with his documented communication style. The exchange does not establish whether Alsabbagh understood the implications of what he forwarded or whether it reflects a broader pattern of communication about women. It is a single documented instance.

A search of the Foreign Agents Registration Act database returned zero registrations for Raafat Alsabbagh. He is one of four Epstein Saudi/Gulf intermediaries — alongside Alahmadi, Alrasheed, and Jabor Al Thani — with no FARA filing, despite email evidence of facilitated meetings between Epstein and Saudi government officials, arranged travel to Riyadh, and receipt of U.S. financial and political intelligence forwarded to Saudi recipients. Whether FARA would have been required depends on whether Alsabbagh was acting at the direction or control of a foreign government or official — a legal determination not resolvable from the email corpus alone. The documented absence is consistent with the broader pattern across the Epstein network: zero FARA registrations for any of the fifteen-plus documented foreign intermediaries spanning six countries.