Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he has nothing to do with disgraced American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
This came following reports that his name cropped up in an email exchange between Epstein and an unknown associate in 2012.
"I just learned today (yesterday) there were outside parties that wanted to meet, and mentioned my name in emails involving Epstein's case.
"Thank God, it has been over a decade (since the emails) and I have nothing to do with any of the parties in the email, especially Epstein," Anwar said in a X post last night.
He used the disgusted emoji after the last mention of Epstein.
While Anwar claimed to have no connection with anyone in the email exchange, the Epstein associate - whose name was redacted by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) - claimed to know the PKR leader well, and had stayed close to him for many years.
The associate also indicated that he had corresponded with Anwar regarding the latter's travel plans that year.
"He is thinking of Europe at the end of March/beginning of April. Will check re:USA. May in Malaysia is also possible but it will depend when elections will be called," the associate told Epstein.
This is in response to the convicted sex offender enquiring whether Anwar would be in Europe or the US in May.
The associate had emailed Epstein about Anwar in hopes of setting up a meeting with then JP Morgan Investment Bank chief executive Jes Staley.
The associate had described a possible Anwar premiership at the time as a potential "gold mine" for the US bank.
The email exchange came a year before the 2013 general election, in which Anwar led then opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat into a strong electoral performance.
In the election, despite winning just 89 out of 222 seats, Pakatan won 50.9 percent of the popular vote. It was the final time in Malaysian electoral history thus far that a single coalition has secured more than 50 percent of votes.
It was also Anwar's closest shot at becoming prime minister before he finally achieved his goal in 2022.
Close Western ties
At the time, Anwar was popular with Western figures who saw him as a reform-minded leader closely aligned with Western ideals.
This in turn led to conspiracy theories that the US and other Western powers were backing Anwar for a regime change.
Epstein - who died of suicide in 2019 while being imprisoned - and his associates have been the subject of intense scrutiny, after multiple allegations that he sexually abused underage girls.
Documents and correspondence linked to the financier are being released by the DOJ amid a push for transparency in the probe against Epstein, in light of his close association with US President Donald Trump. - Mkini
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