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Second Firm Suspends Deals With DP World Over Epstein Files
DP World Operates 5 Port Facilities in Canada
British International Investment, a 9.9 billion-pound ($13.6 billion) development-finance institution owned by the U.K. government, halted investments with DP World over alleged ties between the port operator’s CEO and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“We are shocked by the allegations emerging in the Epstein files regarding Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem,” a spokesman for BII said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News. “In light of the allegations, we will not be making any new investments with DP World until the required actions have been taken by the company.”
BII, wholly owned by the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, is the second of DP World’s partners to publicly suspend investments with the company over bin Sulayem’s ties to Epstein in the space of less than 24 hours. On Feb. 10, the Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec — a major financial partner in several DP World projects — said that it would suspend future investment plans with the company.
The moves follow the release of emails by the U.S. Department of Justice and others obtained by Bloomberg News last summer that showed the DP World CEO corresponded with Epstein for more than a decade after Epstein’s jail sentence in 2008 on charges that included procuring a minor for prostitution.
A spokesman for DP World wasn’t immediately available to comment.
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DP World is one of the world’s largest operators of container ports, and it has a strong link to Canada, with La Caisse among its largest financial partners. The C$496 billion ($366 billion) pension fund holds stakes in several DP assets, including 45% of the Canadian subsidiary.
DP World operates five port facilities in Canada. Last year it won a contract to operate the Port of Montreal’s future C$2.3 billion terminal expansion.
In 2021, BII — then called CDC Group — announced that it would invest alongside DP World in an African platform, starting with ports in Senegal, Egypt and Somaliland. The fund committed an initial $320 million, with $400 million to be invested over several years. DP World contributed its stakes in the three ports to the vehicle, and said it expected to invest a further $1 billion.
As an impact investor, BII evaluates prospective deals based on its partners’ governance practices, according to its website, which says that the company’s priorities include gender equality and business integrity.
