The mysterious foreign passport found in Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion was used to enter at least 4 countries in the 1980s, prosecutors say

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jeffrey epsteinRick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images

  • A mysterious foreign passport found inside a safe in Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan mansion had been used to travel to at least four countries in the 1980s, prosecutors said in court documents seen by The Daily Beast.
  • The Austrian passport was found in a locked safe in Epstein’s Manhattan mansion along with more than $70,000 in cash and several loose diamonds, prosecutors said, according to The Daily Beast.
  • The passport appeared to have a photo of Epstein but was under a different name. The residence was listed in Saudi Arabia.
  • Epstein’s lawyers said in court papers on Tuesday that the passport was for "personal protection," and that prosecutors had offered no evidence that Epstein ever used the passport.
  • But on Wednesday, prosecutors said stamps inside the now-expired passport suggest it was used to enter France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, according to The Daily Beast and NBC News.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A mysterious foreign passport found in a safe in convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s home had been used to travel in and out of multiple countries in the 1980s, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

It was found in a locked safe in Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, along with $70,000 in cash and 48 loose diamonds, The Daily Beast cited prosecutors as saying.

The expired passport from Austria appeared to have a photo of Epstein, but was listed under a different name. The residence was listed in Saudi Arabia.

"The passport contains numerous ingress and egress stamps, including stamps that reflect use of the passport to enter France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s," prosecutors said in court documents published Wednesday, according to The Daily Beast and NBC News.

Epstein, a billionaire financier, was charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking earlier this month. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 45 years in prison.

jeffrey epstein house manhattanScreenshot via Google Maps

Epstein’s lawyers on Tuesday said the passport was from Austria and "expired 32 years ago" in court papers filed in conjunction with his bail request.

They added that the passport was for "personal protection" against "kidnappers, hijackers or terrorists" that may have wanted to target Epstein because of his Jewish faith. 

"The government offers nothing to suggest — and certainly no evidence — that Epstein ever used it," his lawyers argued.

Prosecutors said on Wednesday, however, that Epstein’s lawyers had not yet addressed how Epstein obtained the foreign passport, or whether he is a citizen or resident outside the US.

"The defendant’s submission does not address how the defendant obtained the foreign passport and, more concerning, the defendant has still not disclosed to the Court whether he is a citizen or legal permanent resident of a country other than the United States," they wrote, according to NBC News.

Read more: Jeffrey Epstein had a foreign passport that listed an address in Saudi Arabia to protect himself from ‘hijackers or terrorists,’ his lawyers claim in new court documents

FILE - In this July 30, 2008, file photo, Jeffrey Epstein, center, appears in court in West Palm Beach, Fla. Over the last decade he sought to portray himself as a generous benefactor to children, giving to organizations including a youth orchestra, a baseball league and a private girls’ school a few blocks from his Manhattan mansion. But Epstein’s guilty plea in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution has not made that easy. On July 8, 2019, Epstein pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York to sex trafficking charges. (Uma Sanghvi/Palm Beach Post via AP, File)Associated Press

Prosecutors said the discovery of the passport suggests that Epstein posed a flight risk and should remain in jail, NBC News reported.

They added that the other objects found in the safe alongside the passport — the cash and the loose diamonds — supported the notion that Epstein was prepared "to leave the jurisdiction at a moment’s notice," according to NBC News.

Epstein is currently being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. 

Epstein’s legal team has asked the court to allow him to surrender his current passport and live under house arrest, Reuters reported. 

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Rosie Perper)

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