(Feb 13): DP World Ltd chief executive officer Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem resigned, one of the most influential businesspeople to be felled by his involvement with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
At the helm of one of the world’s largest logistics companies since 2019, Bin Sulayem moved across some of the most powerful business and political circles globally, with regular appearances at the World Economic Forum in Davos. His departure follows the resignation of Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler, which brought to an end a months-long scandal over her association with Epstein.
Bin Sulayem, who was also the chairman of DP World, kept up a relationship with the convicted pedophile before and for more than a decade after Epstein’s jail sentence in 2008 on charges that included procuring a minor for prostitution. The relationship between him and Epstein emerged in a series of emails released by the US Department of Justice and others obtained by Bloomberg News last year.
Bin Sulayem’s resignation, announced in a regulatory statement on Friday, is particularly unusual in a region where high-profile executives rarely relinquish their posts amid public controversy.
At least two government-linked investment funds suspended business with DP World after the depth of his ties to Epstein came to light.
British International Investment, a £9.9 billion development-finance institution owned by the UK government, said earlier this week that it suspended investments with the company over the allegations. Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec — a major financial partner in several DP World projects — said that it was halting future investment plans with the firm.
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“We welcome today’s decision by DP World and look forward to continuing our partnership,” BII said following Friday’s management change.
The emails between Bin Sulayem and Epstein show the two men exchanged intimate messages, contacts in business and politics, and attempted to broker deals for one another.
Neither Bin Sulayem nor representatives for DP World previously responded to repeated requests for comment over the email exchanges.
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Following Bin Sulayem’s resignation, the company named Yuvraj Narayan as the new chief executive officer and Essa Kazim as chairman.
Narayan, who joined DP World in 2004, was recently serving as Bin Sulayem’s deputy and the group’s chief financial officer. Kazim currently serves as the governor of Dubai International Financial Center and Borse Dubai.
DP World has activities in 83 countries, with over 119,000 employees. The company runs and operates the Middle East’s largest port at Jebel Ali in Dubai, the London Gateway in the UK, logistics sites in the US and facilities across Africa.
Bin Sulayem, a Dubai businessman educated at Temple University in Philadelphia, served in numerous government-linked roles in the emirate over the last two decades. He was one of the many executives who lost their jobs in the aftermath of the global financial crisis when Dubai neared default over its ability to repay property-related debt.
In a previous high-profile role, bin Sulayem headed real estate developer Nakheel PJSC, the builder of Dubai’s famed palm-shaped islands. Bin Sulayem’s own property empire encompasses luxury hotels, including Dukes hotel in London’s Mayfair district, as well as a 5-star resort in Dubai.
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