The Fake Austrian Passport and Saudi/Khashoggi Connections

This theory revolves around several interconnected elements:

1. THE ‘MARIUS FORTELNI’ PASSPORT: Discovered in a safe at Epstein’s Manhattan residence with $70,000 in cash and 48 loose diamonds. The Austrian passport, issued on May 21, 1982, bears Epstein’s photograph but the name ‘Marius Fortelni’, with an address in Saudi Arabia. Stamps indicate travel to France, Spain, and the United Kingdom (1982-1983), and a visa from the Saudi consulate in Vienna. The document expired in 1987. Epstein’s lawyers stated he obtained it for ‘personal protection’ against potential kidnappers or terrorists, citing his Jewish religion and wealth as risk factors in the Middle East.

2. THE ADNAN KHASHOGGI CONNECTION: In the 1980s, while Epstein ran his Intercontinental Assets Group (IAG) firm, one of his clients was Adnan Khashoggi, the Saudi arms dealer who was the principal intermediary in the transfer of American weapons to Iran via Israel (the Iran-Contra affair). Khashoggi, then one of the world’s wealthiest men, had the necessary connections to help Epstein obtain travel documents in the region. Vicky Ward specifically suggested that Khashoggi ‘might have been in a position to help Epstein obtain documents in that country [Saudi Arabia]’.

3. THE ‘BOUNTY HUNTER’: In 1986, journalist Jesse Kornbluth met with Epstein, who confided that he not only managed money for ultra-wealthy clients but was also a ‘high-level bounty hunter’. A recently declassified DOJ memo alludes to this role as a ‘financial bounty hunter’. This dual activity, combined with the false passport, suggests clandestine operations beyond simple asset management.

4. STEVEN HOFFENBERG AND ARMS TRAFFICKING: Hoffenberg, a former associate of Epstein and convicted of fraud in the Towers Financial scandal, claimed before his death (2022) that Epstein had received training in the early 1980s under the tutelage of Sir Douglas Leese, who taught him arms trafficking, the creation of shell companies, and money laundering. According to Hoffenberg, Epstein was a ‘principal and major participant’ in Khashoggi and Leese’s arms trafficking and money laundering operations. IMPORTANT CAVEAT: These assertions come from a convicted criminal and are not corroborated by any official document or indictment.

5. LATER SAUDI CONNECTIONS (2016-2018): The Epstein Files revealed that Epstein travelled to Riyadh in late 2016 on his Gulfstream G550 and returned with a lavish gift, apparently from MBS (Mohammed bin Salman). A photo of Epstein posing with MBS was prominently displayed in his Manhattan residence. In April 2018, Epstein wrote, ‘MBS has the Louvre and 400 guards. To himself’ and indicated he was going there. After the assassination of Khashoggi (Jamal, Adnan’s nephew) in October 2018, Epstein wrote that ‘it smells like something bigger’ and speculated that MBZ (Mohammed bin Zayed, ruler of the UAE) had trapped MBS. That same evening, an unidentified contact informed Epstein that MBZ was requesting an ‘urgent’ meeting.

6. BCCI AND THE BROADER CONTEXT: Khashoggi had borrowed money from the BCCI (Bank of Credit and Commerce International) for the Iran-Contra arms purchases. The BCCI, shut down in 1991 for massive fraud, was a central hub for money laundering, terrorism financing, and clandestine operations. Epstein operated within the same financial ecosystem as BCCI actors during that period.