University Vice Chancellor Appears in Epstein Documents Over 2004 Business Outreach
The latest release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents has revealed that University of Newcastle Vice Chancellor Alex Zelinsky sought to arrange a business meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell during a trip to New York in 2004.
Professor Zelinsky, who has never met convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is among thousands of individuals named in the global investigation, including former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd.
No Suggestion of Wrongdoing
There is no indication that Professor Zelinsky, who was working as a technology pioneer in the early 2000s, was aware of any inappropriate activity involving Epstein or his associate Maxwell.
"It's bizarre they [US Department of Justice] have released all of these unrelated emails," Professor Zelinsky said. "I had nothing to do with Epstein and I was unaware of Maxwell's relationship with him. I condemn their abhorrent crimes."
Business Networking Context
Professor Zelinsky first met Maxwell, who was working in a business networking capacity, at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2004.
"I was building a tech company, Seeing Machines. I was networking and looking for potential investors. She seemed to be very well connected," he explained.
Maxwell had joked about his appearance on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and offered to introduce him to people from the IT sector, suggesting they meet for a drink if he was in New York.
Email Exchange Revealed
On April 10, 2004, while back in Australia, Professor Zelinsky emailed Maxwell to advise he was heading to New York and proposed meeting for lunch or dinner.
He wrote: "Greetings from Downunder! We met at Davos at the WEF. I was the guy you thought was too soft to be a tycoon! We talked about meeting up the next time I was in the USA. I hope that stirs your memory! It is likely I will be in New York, May 15-16. How about dinner or lunch?"
Maxwell responded several hours later, asking if he would only be in New York over the weekend, noting that weekends were not good for her as she was generally out of town, but expressing a desire to get together.
Brief Meeting in New York
Professor Zelinsky, along with a consultant from Arthur Andersen and the former chief executive of Compaq, eventually met Maxwell at a New York bar.
"We had a drink. It was very quick, very social. There was no follow-up and no business arrangements resulted," he stated.
Broader Context of Epstein Files
About three million pages of documents relating to Epstein were released by the US Department of Justice on Saturday under a congressional order, shedding further light on the deceased financier's network of contacts in business, politics, and the media.
This comes after Kevin Rudd denied ever visiting Epstein at his New York home, despite such a meeting appearing in Epstein's schedule in 2014.
In a statement issued at the weekend, Mr Rudd denied any friendship with Epstein after then secretary-general of the Council of Europe described Rudd in an email to Epstein as "a friend of both of us".
Emails in the data dump show Rudd appeared on Epstein's daily schedule for Sunday, June 8, 2014, at 4.30pm, but Rudd said he did not attend.
"Our office has no records of this meeting, and the published documents gave no indication about who was involved in organising it. In any case, they were unsuccessful in arranging the introduction," his office said in a statement.
Background on Maxwell and Epstein
Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite and the former girlfriend of billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence in the US for sex trafficking.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He was previously jailed in 2008 for soliciting paid sex from a minor.
The inclusion of Professor Zelinsky's name in the files highlights how the Epstein investigation has captured a wide range of contacts, many of whom had minimal or no direct involvement with the financier's criminal activities.
