Private Caribbean islands owned by the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein have been put up for sale and could fetch up to $125 million.
A lawyer for Epstein’s estate confirmed to the BBC that the two islands – Little St James and Great St James – were listed.
Attorney Daniel Weiner said a portion of the proceeds from the sale will be used to settle pending litigation.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The financier bought the 90-acre Little St James – the most developed of the two – almost 25 years ago for nearly $8million (£6million).
He then acquired the larger Great St. James for $22.5 million in 2016 and had drawn up plans to develop the 161-acre island by building homes, an amphitheater, and an underwater office and pool.
Epstein has been accused by US Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George of sexually abusing girls as young as 12 on Little St. James.
The lawsuit, filed two years ago, also alleged that a 15-year-old girl attempted to flee the island by swimming away before being captured and having her passport confiscated.
Mr. Weiner, a partner at the New York law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, said the sale is taking place with the support of Ms. George and that the proceeds will be “from the estate to resolve outstanding litigation and the regular costs of operating the property.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the two islands could be sold for as much as $125 million, although some estimates put the value closer to $86 million.
Epstein has reportedly welcomed a number of high-profile guests to Little St. James over the years. One of Epstein’s alleged victims, Virginia Giuffre, alleged in a civil lawsuit that Prince Andrew abused her on the island. Prince Andrew denied the claims and said he had no recollection of meeting Ms Giuffre.
The prince recently paid Ms. Giuffre a settlement to end a civil case in the United States. The settlement did not accept liability and Prince Andrew has always firmly denied allegations of wrongdoing.
Other visitors to Little St James included Jes Staley, former Barclays boss.
He resigned from the British bank last year after financial regulators investigated how the banker characterized his relationship with Epstein.
Mr Staley stopped by Epstein’s island in 2015, a few months before taking on the role of chief executive at Barclays.
UK financial regulators launched an investigation after JP Morgan – Mr Staley’s former employer – turned over 1,200 emails sent between the banker and Epstein mainly in 2008 and 2012.
Regulators were concerned the emails showed a closer relationship between the two men than Mr Staley had described to Barclays board.
Mr Staley disputes the regulators’ finding.
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