ICSM Business Insolvency News: GOING BUST? The Epstein fall-out sees Mandelson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson in financial trouble - plus MORE names in the frame

By Harry Mottram: Few would have thought that Epstein’s emails could have brought down members of the Royal Family, international lobbying outfit Global Counsel, the British Ambassador to America or even potentially the USA president. Sexual impropriety, sex trafficking and the rape of underage girls was at the core of the Epstein scandal but it is the financial misdemeanours that are bringing down famous names and companies.

Epstein’s estate was worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but its coffers are set to be depleted as his victims and their legal teams sue for every dollar they can extract from the convicted sex offender. Following his death, the estate also faced insolvency claims from a host of suppliers, lenders, legal firms, and the families of victims and banks.

In the UK Lord Mandelson has been arrested – not over sex crimes – but over passing top secret Government financial information to Epstein which could see him in jail from decades if misconduct in a public office is proved. Apart from his likely personal insolvency as legal bills mount up, it’s his lobbying business Global Counsel that’s gone into administration as its high-profile clients like Shell, TikTok and Barclays pull their accounts out fearing contamination linked to Mandelson. It is being widely reported that the PR firm set up by Lord Mandelson and Benjamin Wegg-Prosser in 2010 is making the 120 staff redundant. Such a sudden downturn in business could also see suppliers unpaid.

Another casualty is of course the former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson whose links to Epstein have been laid bare by the emails released in the USA. She borrowed cash from him and his associates as she couldn't pay for her own staff, owed money to a string of firms, and sought cash for access to her former husband the then Prince Andrew. Despite her lavish lifestyle it appears to be all paid for on credit resulting in her asking Epstein for bankruptcy advice while he was in jail - emails suggest. Six companies she owns have been reported to be wound up while she's been dumped by the charities she is a patron of. Her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are also entangled in her dealings with Epstein raising question marks over their financial dealings.

The royal family’s finances are now being scrutinised by politicians, the media and the public as questions are asked about their tax avoidance, public hand-outs and the cost to the taxpayer. Andrew’s legal bill is expected to hit £1million pounds as he seeks to avoid the most serious charge against him when he was a business envoy – and if Charles and William are found to have known about his wrongdoing then all things are possible. The point is that those who have done business with them, worked for them or supplied them with anything from computers to note paper will now be reluctant to offer credit in future if they were to be dragged through the courts over Andrew’s affairs.

In America it is so far a different story where high profile people have been named in the Epstein files and yet haven’t so far been brought to book. President Trump, Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Steve Bannon to name but a few. All have massive business deals and links and if any did end up in court you can expect to see more companies in trouble – along with their associates, suppliers and contractors. And with more names in the frame this is not just a sex scandal of young teenage girls being abused and raped by rich men but a financial scandal that threatens some of the most powerful businesses and institutions in the western world.

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