How Ukraine appears in the latest Epstein files

The U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 31 published over 3 million documents in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Some of them had a direct connection to Ukraine.

The files linked to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein include email conversations with at least two modeling agencies in Ukraine, travel arrangements for women from Kyiv and Odesa, booking arrangements in the Hyatt hotel in downtown Kyiv allegedly involving the hotel's owner, a plan to purchase real estate in Lviv and the discussion of Ukraine's political scene during the 2019 presidential elections.

The Kyiv Independent continues to review the documents published by the Department of Justice. The first findings are provided below.

Ukrainian modeling agencies

Two Kyiv-based modeling agencies are mentioned in the documents released by the DOJ. The agencies — Linea 12 Models and L-Models — were both founded in the 1990s and are still active today.

In one email, a sender whose name is redacted tells Epstein that Linea 12 Models and L-Models were "the best" in Kyiv and that "all the other small agencies if you need I will find contacts but most of all its cheap escort."

The same thread has photos of women attached, with an individual whose name is not shown choosing the women they had liked.

In a separate letter, Epstein shares a contact for Yuliya Kiseleva, "who has around 400 girls for model agencies and wedding agencies based in Kyiv."

Masha Manyuk, 58, a former Ukrainian model and TV presenter, has been running Linea 12 Models for nearly 30 years.

One of the emails, dated October 2010, shows Manyuk contacting Jean-Luc Brunel, a French model agent and longtime associate of Epstein, who had been charged with rape of minors and sexual harassment.

He was found dead in his Paris prison cell in February 2022.

In the email exchange, Manyuk and Brunel discuss a contract for a Ukrainian model, whom Brunel had met earlier in Paris. The discussion revolves around organizing her trip to the U.S. for a potential collaboration.

Manyuk writes that the model is returning to Ukraine and asks about the best time for her to arrive in New York, the duration of the trip, and who will send the representation contract.

Brunel forwarded the correspondence to Epstein.

Manyuk described the email as a "standard, transparent letter" that she usually sends to decision-makers at modeling agencies — in this case, it was a letter to Brunel, the owner of MC2 Model Management.

"The point of the letter was to ask the American agency if they might be interested in representing a Ukrainian model abroad in America. Whether they would agree to take her to fashion week or not," Manyuk told the Kyiv Independent, adding that at the time, none of the agency's models were selected for the New York trip.

Manyuk says she has known Brunel for 20 years. He had opened the Ukrainian branch of the French agency Karin Models and would visit Ukraine once a year, or every few years, for scouting purposes, Manyuk adds.

"I didn't know Epstein or about his connections (with Brunel)," she said. "It was very strange to me because I saw (Brunel) for many years, and there was never even the slightest hint."

Brunel was accused of sexual abuse in the late 1980s, in the early 2000s, and in the late 2010s.

Another Ukrainian modeling agency mentioned in the files — L-Models — is co-owned by Stas Yankelevskiy.

Yankelevskiy told the Kyiv Independent that L-Models, its owners and representatives, "have never had any involvement in escort services, the organization of escorts, or any similar activities, including in any context related to the case of Jeffrey Epstein."

According to him, the agency also didn't collaborate with Kiseleva, who is mentioned in the letter.

Ukrainian women

The emails mention names and photos of several Ukrainian women, including those of models, as well as deal with planning of tens of round-trip flights to and from Kyiv and Odesa.

In April 2011, Epstein received an email from an unknown person with three flight options from New York to Kyiv. All flights were with the Russian airline Aeroflot and had layovers in Moscow.

It's unclear who the flights were for.

Other emails also mention a stay at the five-star Hyatt hotel in Kyiv. In 2012, Epstein's former executive assistant Lesley Groff wrote to an unknown recipient that Thomas Pritzker, the executive chairman of hotel chain Hyatt, had booked a room for them "for the nights of Oct. 8-11."

Previously released Epstein files have shown a connection between Epstein and Pritzker.

In August 2018, Groff again appeared to have coordinated round-trip travel for women, with one of the destinations being the southern city of Odesa.

In an email to one of the women in 2018, Groff writes that Epstein had arranged an apartment for her one-week stay.

In a separate email, a man named Brock Pierce, allegedly the co-founder of Tether cryptocurrency, tells Epstein that "a boat in Atingua full of amazing Ukraine's finest" is waiting for him.

Purchase of a Lviv building

The Epstein files also include extensive correspondence in 2017 about the purchase of a mansion in Lviv between Epstein, Ukrainian-born art dealer Anastasiya Siroochenko, Michael Stein, an accountant at Goldglit & Company, and Jon Tomlinson, who appears to be a real estate agent.

They did not respond to requests for comment.

The building, which is located on 24 Borys Romanytsky St, was bought in 2015 by Siroochenko's mother, Tetyana, for $128,500 from Olga Kravchuk, a Ukrainian woman based in Poland. The funds were provided by a company called Lviv Enterprises LLC.

Siroochenko's mother then gifted the building to her daughter, who intended to register it as Lviv Enterprises LLC's property.

"(Anastasiya) and her mother have discussed several ideas for the use of the building, one of them being a pilates studio, which Tetyana would oversee," Stein wrote. "...Because (Anastasiya) is rarely in the Ukraine, finishing her university studies, and running Sublime Art, the process is happening over a period of a few years as her time allows."

In one of the emails, Epstein alleged that the seller of the building, "Olga (Kravchuk) was a criminal type and wondered if she had fled Ukraine.

Another email mentions that in 2015, Siroochenko transferred $400,000.

Part of the money was used to buy the building on 24 Borys Romanytsky St, while $199,999 was an investment in a company called Curation Media.

Ukrainian presidents

In 2019, some email conversations began focusing on the ongoing presidential campaign in which then-President Petro Poroshenko was competing against an up-and-coming challenger, Volodymyr Zelensky.

In May 2019, Epstein instructed an unknown interlocutor, presumably a Ukrainian woman, to “start following” Ukrainian politics, including the topics of Zelensky, parliament, and corruption.

The email implies that this will contribute to the person’s future “success.” The person answers that it would be interesting to follow. Epstein replies with a sobering comment, pointing out it’s not about fun, and apparently encouraging his interlocutor to engage in corruption.

“Yes, it is funny, but sophisticated corruption,” he said. “Huge amounts of money will be made. Huge. I’d like to see you as a female oligarch.”

In another email, a sender whose name was redacted wrote on June 10, 2019, that he was "visiting Zelensky this Thursday." The conversation included former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

Epstein and then Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák, an ally of the country's Russia-friendly Prime Minister Robert Fico, discussed Zelensky's victory over Poroshenko.

"How do you view the Ukrainian election?" Epstein wrote.

"The Russians hate Poroshenko, so this could be good for helping to solve the conflict," Lajčák responded. "But I have no idea if (Zelensky) is capable to run the country."

Epstein suggested that it "seems like a perfect place for you to intercede."

"I'm trying to," Lajčák added.

Note from the author:

Hello there! This is Kateryna Denisova, the author of this piece.

The Kyiv Independent doesn't have a wealthy owner or a paywall. Instead, we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism funded. If you liked this article, please consider joining our community today.

Thank you.