Leaked emails show the details behind talks between Cote d’Ivoire and Israel shepherded by Ehud Barak and Jeffrey Epstein

Murtaza Hussain and Ryan Grim Nov 07, 2025

[cover image] Jeffrey Epstein with unidentified soldiers in Africa. Photo from Epstein’s “birthday book.”

Jeffrey Epstein and Ehud Barak were specialists in war profiteering. At the end of his tenure as Israel’s defense minister and after his supposed “retirement,” Barak embraced a role as a salesman of Israeli security services to embattled governments, opening the door for Israeli intelligence leaders to shape the security apparatuses of several African nations, including the country of Côte d’Ivoire.

Quietly facilitating these efforts was Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019. Epstein wrote at one point to Barak: “with civil unrest exploding [...] and the desperation of those in power, isn’t this perfect for you.” Barak replied:, “You’re right [in] a way. But not simple to transform it into a cash flow.” Transforming unrest into cash flow, in the case of Côte d’Ivoire, involved brokering deals between the Israeli state and the embattled West African nation.

New details about Epstein’s role in Israeli intelligence operations in Africa have emerged from two sets of documents: an archive of leaked emails released by the Handala hacking group and hosted by non-profit whistleblower site Distributed Denial of Secrets and documents released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee last month. The latter set includes Epstein’s personal emails and appointment calendars, which provide clear evidence of Epstein’s involvement in Israel’s West African security negotiations in 2012, while Barak was still Israel’s Defense Minister.

The two men worked together as a conduit for Israel’s intelligence sector in Côte d’Ivoire, where Barak was welcomed as a representative of the Israeli government even after leaving public office. Epstein helped Barak deliver a proposal for mass surveillance of Ivorian phone and internet communications, crafted by former Israeli intelligence officials.

As in Mongolia, Epstein and Barak’s private deal-making evolved seamlessly into an official security agreement between Israel and Côte d’Ivoire in 2014. Since the agreement was signed, over a decade ago, President Alassane Ouattara has tightened his grip on power, banning public demonstrations and arresting peaceful protestors. In this October’s election, the octogenarian won a fourth term, in defiance of constitutional term limits, while opposition candidates were barred from participation.

Today, Ouattara continues to enjoy the support of Israeli security firms to help him maintain power. His Israeli-backed police state has squashed civic organizations and silenced critics. In the wake of the recent election, exiled activist Boga Sako Gervais denounced Ouattara’s authoritarian slide: “Under Ouattara, since 2011, freedoms of opinion, thought, and expression have been criminalized,” he said. “It has become forbidden to criticize the head of state.”

The story of Israel’s security agreement with Côte d’Ivoire is only one chapter in the saga of Epstein and Barak’s covert activities in Africa—it is reported here as the next entry in an ongoing series on Epstein’s ties to Israel’s intelligence.

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Epstein, Israel, Ivory Coast: How Israeli Intelligence Built a Police State In West Africa

In late 2010, a disputed presidential election in the west African nation of Côte d’Ivoire triggered political upheaval and violence that rapidly destabilized the country. The UN certified Alassane Ouattara as the winner of a November 2010 runoff vote. But the outcome was not accepted by the rival incumbent, Laurent Gbago. After months of violence, a French and UN military intervention was launched in April 2011 to remove Gbago and drive him from the country.

After Gbagbo’s exile, Ouattara inherited a security apparatus fractured by the crisis, and his own hold on power was uncertain. The new president announced that his government had foiled a coup plot against him by officers still loyal to Gbagbo in June 2012.

Five days after that announcement, the new Ivorian president, who had a long career as an economist at the International Monetary Fund and a reputation as a technocrat, traveled to Jerusalem to meet Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discuss cooperation on science, technology, and counterterrorism. The following month, an Israeli delegation visited Côte d’Ivoire to field Ouattara’s questions about Israel’s security apparatus and rebuilding the Ivorian presidential army.

While Israeli and Ivorian officials sat in hotel conference rooms and took press photographs, American financier Jeffrey Epstein was across the globe, engaged in shadow diplomacy to develop further ties between Israel and the new Ivorian leader.

On June 18, 2012, the very same day Barak was meeting with Alassane Ouattara in Jerusalem, according to Epstein schedules released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee, his son David Dramane Ouattara was in New York City for an appointment with Epstein.

On September 12, three months later, Epstein met with Ouattara’s niece Nina Keita, whom he had known since at least 2002; as a young fashion model in Jean Luc Brunel’s Karin Models agency, she had traveled on his “Lolita Express” plane between New York and Paris. After Keita’s visit, records show that Epstein went straight to the Regency Hotel in New York for a private meeting with the Israeli defense minister.

The next month, Epstein flew to Africa. In a note to his assistant, he instructed her to arrange to switch planes in London before flying to Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, and Senegal. There are no flight logs documenting the Africa trip.

The flurry of visits appeared to pay dividends for Epstein, Barak, and the Israeli government. Two weeks after Epstein’s trip to Africa, the Ivorian Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko was in Tel Aviv to meet with Barak and discuss a bilateral security accord focused on intelligence and cybercrime.

Epstein discusses October travel with his assistant, including stop in Côte d’Ivoire. Source: House Oversight documents.