New Delhi: Nearly a month after he was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein, Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani purportedly sent him a text with a significant request on 16 March 2017: “Hello. Was in delhi. Leadership wld like ur help for me to meet jared and bannon asap. PI advise. Likely visit to dc by pm in may to meet donald. Also assitance on that”.
Jared appears to be a reference to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump who was US president earlier from January 2017 to January 2021; the other appears to be a reference to Steve Bannon, White House chief strategist from January to August 2017.
This purported conversation between Epstein and Ambani features in the latest tranche of Epstein’s correspondence with influential figures released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) last week.
The chats, along with emails, exchanged over a period of two years, outline the contours of Ambani and Epstein’s equation. In one such exchange, Epstein asked Ambani, “do you have a favorite candidate. for amb [ambassador] to India.”
In another, he said, “i think mr modi might enjoy meeting steve Bannon , you all share the china problem.”
Other texts show Epstein and Ambani making plans to meet in Paris and Washington DC. On one occasion, Epstein invited Ambani to his private island in the US Virgin Islands. “thx, you are welcome in the caribbean . on my island , just give me dates,” he wrote.
Ambani, according to the excerpts, responded: “will plan wth sultan. Will need ur guidance on dealing wth white house for india relationship ad defense cooperation.”
Ambani, according to emails exchanged between their offices, travelled to the US in May 2019 to meet Epstein.
More than two years after the “Leadership wld like ur help” text from Ambani, Epstein told Bannon about his meeting with “his [Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s] guy”.
“really interesting modi meeting, he won with HUGE mandate. his guy said that no one in wash speaks to him however his mainenemy is CHINA! and their proxy in the region pakistan. they will host the g20 in 22. totally buys into your vision,” Epstein told Bannon in a text on 24 May 2019. Just a day earlier, Ambani had met Epstein at the latter’s residence in New York, according to a series of emails exchanged between their teams. However, it is unclear whether Epstein was referring to Ambani as the “guy” he was referring to.
According to the excerpts, Ambani told Epstein that Modi was scheduled to go on an official visit to the US and later to Israel, around July 2017. He also asked Epstein to cancel his meeting with Ehud Barak, former Israeli prime minister, citing his dinner with Francois Hollande who was president of France from May 2012 to May 2017.
The dinner was scheduled to take place months after India and France signed a deal for 36 Rafale jets manufactured by French firm Dassault Aviation. Under the terms of the inter-government deal, Dassault had to make an investment in India worth 50 percent of the total value of the deal. In February 2017, it forged a joint venture with Reliance Aerostructure Limited (RAL), a Reliance group subsidiary, which came to be known as Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL) for production of Rafale and Falcon jets in India.
Shortly after Modi’s Israel visit in July 2017, Epstein wrote in an email to an individual identified as ‘Jabor Y’: “Modi took advice. and danced and sang in Israel for the benefit of the US president. They had met a few weeks ago… IT WORKED!”
In an earlier exchange from 2017, Ambani had written to Epstein, “Pm [Modi] visiting Israel on 5 6 jul then 7 8 in hamburg for g20 whr he will meet donald. But a separate mtng being planned in dc. thats what i inquired.”
Epstein responded: “yes i fully understood . what i am told is that discussions re Israel strategy were dominating modi dates. however lots and lots of internal conflicts taking priority.”
In another text on 7 June 2017, Epstein told Ambani: “Qatar complicating Israel deal. Gets punished. It’s easy once you understand his priorities…Modi did will in St. Petersburg. Could play a giant role”.
To this, Ambani responded: “Yes. Paris was even better wth emmanuel [apparent reference to French President Emmanuel Macron].”
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. He was found dead in his New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 while awaiting trial. He was earlier convicted in 2008 for procuring a minor for prostitution.
The latest tranche of extracts was published Friday under provisions of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, enacted in November 2025. The files contain more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, taking the total number of documents to around 3.5 million.
ThePrint reached Anil Ambani and a Reliance Group spokesperson for comment via email and WhatsApp, respectively, but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Reacting to excerpts made public in what is being referred to as the ‘Epstein files’, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement on 31 January said, “We have seen reports of an email message from the so-called Epstein files that carries a reference to the Prime Minister and his visit to Israel. Beyond the fact of the Prime Minister’s official visit to Israel in July 2017, the rest of the allusions in the email are little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal, which deserve to be dismissed with the utmost contempt.”
‘Will learn a lot from u’
In March 2017, Epstein wrote in an email apparently to American businessman Tom Pritzker: “are you closer to Mukesh or anil ambani”.
On 17 March 2017, he wrote in another email, apparently to American investor and current US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack: “Anil ambani , India , is coming to new york first week April, i think you would enjoy, modi is coming in may.”
The first purported exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and Anil Ambani can be traced back to 23 February 2017, a day after Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem shared Ambani’s contact details with Epstein over email. In a text to Epstein the same month, Ambani wrote: “Thanks. Enjoyed mtng u. Will learn a lot from u.”
Epstein responded by saying he had shared the contact details of Ehud Barak over email. Shortly after, Epstein offered Ambani a meeting with Barak.
On 5 May, he also informed the Reliance Group chairman that he would sponsor a United Nations event featuring “the top 75 ambassadors and foreign ministers,” according to the excerpts. “I will hold a place for you, you can get quality time with your choice. lve read up on your father, and his market savvy, love it…,” Epstein wrote.
According to the disclosures, in April 2017, Ambani asked Epstein whether he was available to meet in Washington DC that month. Other excerpts released by the US DoJ shed a light on the extent of Ambani’s purported correspondence with Epstein. In one instance, Epstein wrote in an email to Ambani on 9 April 2017, “also then keep in mind if you son needs anything at all. in new York he now has family there”. Ambani replied, “Thank u soo much.”
In another email, dated 11 March 2019, Epstein texted Ambani: “Stay mentally strong. Make sure you get enough sleep. Ive advised many friends in similar circumstances. Good luck”. Ambani responded with “Thanks”. Another excerpt shows Epstein asking Ambani, “BTW did your father [Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani] have a mentor.? or was most of his strength, a personal creation driven by challenge”.
Ambani responded: “He was his own guru.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora and Nida Fatima Siddiqui)