Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Canada’s second-largest pension fund said it would halt future deals with Dubai’s DP World following revelations of ties between the logistics company’s chief executive Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
La Caisse, Quebec’s state pension fund, which has invested billions of dollars in port projects around the world with the group, said it was “pausing additional capital deployment alongside the company”.
The fund is the first of DP World’s global partners to halt deals with the logistics group following the publication of messages between Sulayem and Epstein, which were included in the US Department of Justice’s release of documents related to the disgraced financier.
The C$496bn (US$366bn) pension fund said it had “made it clear to the company that we expect it to shed light on the situation and take the necessary actions”, stressing it was “important to distinguish the company, DP World, from the individual, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem”.
DP World and Sulayem have repeatedly declined to comment since the FT first reported earlier this month on the CEO’s interactions with Epstein, including their messages about sexual experiences and Sulayem’s role helping to arrange training for a “masseuse” from Epstein’s “private spa”.
No action has been taken against Sulayem, one of the most senior commercial figures in Dubai, since the messages were published last month.
Dubai’s royal family, who rarely respond to outside criticism, oversees state-owned DP World.
The company declined to comment on Tuesday when asked about La Caisse’s decision.
Sulayem has steered DP World over four decades, helping it become one of the largest global operators of container-terminal infrastructure. It runs six ports in Canada alongside major investments in the UK and other countries.
La Caisse is one of its biggest investment partners.
The documents released by the DoJ showed Sulayem maintained a relationship with Epstein long after the financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008 and up until shortly before Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting charges of sex trafficking.
The men appear to have traded images while discussing people they had relations with as well as sharing lists for escort and massage services in various cities.
In September 2015, Sulayem wrote to Epstein about a “girl” he was involved with, saying it was “the best sex I ever had amazing body”.
In November 2013, Sulayem sent an email to Epstein saying: “By the way the Ukrainian and the Moldavian arrived. Big disappointment the Moldavian is not as attractive as the picture while the Ukrainian is very beautiful.” Epstein responded: “photo shop”.
The Emirati businessman has been group chair and chief executive of DP World since 2016, having been appointed as chair in 2007. The company is best known in the UK for buying P&O Ferries in 2019 and has investments in ports and infrastructure around the world.
DP World signed a joint venture with La Caisse in September last year for its Montreal port expansion project in Contrecœur that has been identified as one of the first major proposals under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s infrastructure agenda.
In June 2022 La Caisse announced a US$5bn deal with DP World in three of DP World’s flagship United Arab Emirates assets, including the giant Jebel Ali port in Dubai, the largest in the Middle East.
La Caisse and DP World also announced a partnership in 2016 with commitments of US$3.7bn to invest in ports and terminals around the world.