A SIGNIFICANT investor in Australian logistics has welcomed a decision by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem to quit as DP World chair and chief executive after being named in court-released Epstein documents.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem is one of the most prominent figures in global logistics and the revelation had attracted worldwide publicity.
New York-based Investcorp Corsair Infrastructure Partners (ICIP), previously Corsair Infrastructure Partners, manages a financial stake in DP World Australia.
In a statement, an ICIP spokesperson told Daily Cargo News they supported "DP World’s decision today and look forward to continuing and growing our successful partnership".
"DP World is an exceptional operator and plays an important role in ICIP’s mission to invest in the revitalisation of critical infrastructure assets globally,” the spokesperson said.
Prior to the announcement, an ICIP spokesperson told DCN they were aware of what they described as "the deeply troubling allegations regarding Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and we are treating them with the utmost seriousness”.
“We have conveyed to DP World our expectation that the company will take all necessary actions to resolve this matter and we will be closely monitoring developments,” the spokesperson said.
The Epstein files are a collection of millions of documents, images and videos detailing the criminal activities of the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein and people who came into contact with him.
Being named in the documents does not imply wrongdoing, and no allegations have been made against Bin Sulayem.
The matter has already impacted the global ports sector.
The Financial Times newspaper had reported that Canada’s second-largest pension fund, La Caisse, would halt future deals with DP World following the revelations.
A Reuters media report stated that DP World had declined to comment on the alleged ties between its chief executive and Jeffrey Epstein, while Bin Sulayem had not immediately responded to a request for comment sent to a social media account.
In a social media post, the Maritime Union of Australia said the contents called into question DP World’s right to “sit at the heart of our supply chains” and that the company should be “held accountable in Australia by our community and our government”.
DCN approached DPW for comment but had not received correspondence at the time of publication.
Al Jazeerra has quoted the UAE government’s Dubai Media Office as saying that Essa Kazim had been appointed chairman and Yuvraj Narayan as group chief executive of DP World.