An investigation based on U.S. Department of Justice documents reveals how American brokerage firm Charles Schwab transferred nearly $27.7 million on behalf of financier Jeffrey Epstein in the ten days preceding his arrest in July 2019, as he sought to purchase the luxurious Bin Ennakhil Palace in Marrakech, Morocco. 

According to the documents, Schwab opened three accounts for companies linked to Epstein in April 2019, including one for Southern Trust, the entity used for the planned acquisition of the Bin Ennakhil Palace.

Between June 26 and July 9, 2019, Southern Trust requested Schwab to wire approximately €12.7 million for the purchase, then canceled the instruction; days before Epstein’s arrest, a new request signed by him led Schwab to transfer $14.95 million to a Swiss account held by the real estate broker handling the transaction. At the time, Southern Trust’s account did not have sufficient funds, as the previous transfer had not yet cleared.

Schwab reported these suspicious transactions to the U.S. Treasury Department’s financial crimes enforcement network (FinCEN) in a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) on July 13, 2019, one week after Epstein’s arrest.

The real estate transaction ultimately did not go through, and Epstein died in prison in August 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges.

Marc Leon, the real estate broker involved in the Marrakech sale, defended his role, noting that Epstein had already served a sentence in 2008 and that “nothing prevented him from buying a property in Morocco.”

Documents also show that Richard Kahn, Epstein’s accountant, was called to testify before the U.S. Congress regarding his role in managing the deceased financier’s affairs.