American Express

UpdatedSeptember 8, 2026

ByEpsteinWiki

Pentagram Studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

American Express provided Jeffrey Epstein with premium credit card and travel services for decades. The relationship continued after Epstein’s 2008 conviction and ended only after federal prosecutors arrested him on sex trafficking charges in July 2019.

Released account statements, travel confirmations, and emails show that Epstein’s office used American Express to arrange international travel for dozens of women. Many travelers came from Russia, Poland, Belarus, Latvia, Ukraine, and other parts of Eastern Europe.

The records also show American Express personnel responding to requests for temporary reservations, visa itineraries, and flights described within the correspondence as decoy flights that were not intended to be taken.

American Express has said that it condemns exploitation and human trafficking, takes its legal reporting obligations seriously, terminated Epstein’s accounts after his 2019 arrest, and regrets having accepted him as a customer.

The available evidence does not establish that American Express knew Epstein was using its services to facilitate sexual abuse or trafficking. However, the length of the relationship, Epstein’s public criminal conviction, the unusual travel requests, and the personalized assistance provided to his office raise substantial questions about customer monitoring and institutional accountability.

Snapshot

Company: American Express Company
Service provided: Credit cards, Centurion relationship management, and international travel booking
Epstein customer since: Reportedly 1977
Premium account: American Express Centurion, commonly called the Black Card
Documented Centurion access: At least 2004 through 2019
Relevant period after Epstein’s conviction: 2008 through 2019
Principal Epstein staff contact: Lesley Groff
American Express relationship manager identified in released correspondence: Natalia Molotkova
Account terminated: After Epstein’s federal arrest in July 2019
Company position: American Express regrets having accepted Epstein as a customer and says it continually updates its controls
Important evidence limitation: Redactions prevent researchers from determining the identity and age of every traveler
Criminal status: No released record establishes that American Express or its employees were criminally charged for providing services to Epstein

What Is American Express

American Express is a multinational financial services company best known for payment cards, travel services, and premium benefits for wealthy clients.

Its invitation only Centurion Card provides personalized assistance through dedicated relationship managers and travel advisers. These services can include international flight reservations, hotels, itinerary changes, restaurant bookings, and other concierge arrangements.

Epstein became an American Express customer long before his first criminal investigation. According to records reviewed by Bloomberg, he had held an account since 1977 and possessed a Centurion Card by at least 2004.

His relationship with the company expanded into an extensive collection of personal and business cards. By 2017, released records reportedly showed as many as nine Centurion cards connected to his account.

The Relationship Continued After Epstein’s Conviction

Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to charges that included procuring a minor for prostitution. He was required to register as a sex offender.

Despite the conviction, American Express continued providing him with premium credit card, travel, and relationship management services for more than a decade.

This is a central fact in evaluating the company’s conduct. Epstein was not merely accused in private or named in an unverified tip. He was a publicly registered sex offender with a conviction involving a minor.

The company did not terminate his accounts after that conviction. American Express has said it ended the relationship after Epstein was arrested on new federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019.

Epstein’s American Express Accounts

Released financial records show that Epstein maintained numerous American Express products.

These reportedly included Centurion, Platinum, Gold, Blue Cash, Plum, and business cards. Some cards were issued to additional authorized users connected to Epstein.

By 2006, his account reportedly included eight Gold cards and one Platinum card. By 2012, it included as many as three Centurion cards. By 2017, the account reportedly included as many as nine Centurion cards.

In 2018, the account held approximately 11.2 million membership reward points, even after Epstein reportedly transferred one million points to an associate.

From March through June 2019, accounts associated with Epstein reportedly accumulated more than $2.5 million in spending. Much of that spending was connected to a business named for his private island.

Account records and related correspondence can be located through the Epstein Data American Express search and the Epstein Data Amex search.

The Designated Travel Team

A 2012 email described the creation of a designated American Express travel team for Epstein.

The message stated that Epstein insisted his office use American Express for travel. It explained that the team would track preferences and allow designated members of Epstein’s staff to make reservations through his Black Card.

This was more than ordinary card processing. Epstein’s office had access to specialized American Express personnel who helped manage complex international travel.

Lesley Groff, Epstein’s longtime executive assistant, appears repeatedly in the released correspondence as a central contact for the bookings.

Bella Klein, an accountant who worked for Epstein, was also included in travel and account communications. Neither Groff nor Klein has been criminally charged in connection with Epstein’s crimes.

The relevant records can be reviewed through the Epstein Data designated travel team search.

International Travel for Women and Girls

Hundreds of released documents reviewed by CBS News show American Express travel services arranging international flights for multiple women or girls whose names were redacted.

The bookings span at least 2012 through 2019.

Travelers were booked from countries including Russia, Poland, Belarus, Latvia, and Ukraine. Destinations included New York, Miami, Paris, and other locations connected to Epstein’s residences or travel.

Because many names and personal details are redacted, the records do not allow researchers to determine the age of every traveler. It is therefore necessary to describe them as women or girls rather than claim that every person was a minor.

The volume, geographic pattern, and privacy surrounding the travel nevertheless deserve close scrutiny, especially because the bookings continued years after Epstein’s conviction involving a minor.

The released records can be explored through the Epstein Data Eastern Europe travel search and the Epstein Data travel booking search.

The Decoy Flight Requests

Some of the most concerning records involve reservations described as decoy flights.

In a 2016 exchange, Groff asked Natalia Molotkova, an American Express Centurion relationship manager, to find a flight from Rome to London for a redacted woman.

Groff wrote that the flight was a decoy and that the traveler would not actually take it. The woman was instead holding a separate flight from Rome to Miami.

The email said the traveler needed to show an itinerary for the decoy flight.

When Groff was questioned by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in June 2026, her attorney disputed the suggestion that this particular itinerary had been created to obtain a visa. He said the woman wanted to conceal from her parents that she was traveling to visit Epstein.

That explanation does not eliminate the compliance question. The written request expressly described a reservation that was never intended to be used.

The records can be found through the Epstein Data decoy flight search.

Reservations Created for Visa Applications

Other released emails more directly connected temporary reservations to visa applications.

In December 2012, Groff asked Molotkova to arrange refundable travel for an Eastern European model who needed an itinerary for a consular interview.

The correspondence reportedly stated that the hotel did not matter because the traveler could alter the dates herself using Microsoft Word.

Molotkova responded that creating a reservation solely for a visa was against American Express policy. However, she offered to hold the reservation temporarily.

After the consular appointment, Groff asked her to cancel the trip.

Additional messages reportedly show American Express personnel helping Epstein’s office create or manage reservations needed for Canadian and other visa applications.

The records do not prove that every visa application was fraudulent. They do show American Express employees receiving requests for travel that the requester said was not intended to occur.

Relevant material is available through the Epstein Data visa itinerary search and the Epstein Data consular interview search.

Instructions to Restrict Account Emails

A released 2017 email shows Groff urgently contacting Epstein’s American Express relationship manager after flight confirmations were distributed to multiple email addresses.

Groff asked American Express to remove every other email address from the account. She said Epstein was extremely private and wanted flight confirmations sent only to her.

The underlying record is Epstein Data document EFTA00458074.

The request may have had an ordinary privacy explanation. Wealthy clients frequently seek tight control over financial and travel information.

However, the request becomes more significant when viewed alongside the decoy flights, visa reservations, international travel for redacted women, and Epstein’s existing conviction.

The record shows that Epstein’s office wanted travel details restricted even within his own organizational network. It also shows that American Express personnel were expected to respond quickly to his privacy demands.

Natalia Molotkova

Natalia Molotkova was identified in released correspondence as a principal American Express Centurion relationship manager for Epstein’s office.

According to Bloomberg’s review, Molotkova worked near Atlanta and had previously worked for a visa agency.

Emails reportedly show her assisting Epstein’s staff with international flights, temporary reservations, travel changes, and visa related requests.

In at least one exchange, Molotkova acknowledged that a requested arrangement was contrary to American Express policy. She nevertheless suggested a way to hold the reservation temporarily.

The evidence does not establish that Molotkova knew Epstein was trafficking or abusing anyone. It does establish that she and other American Express personnel provided unusually personalized travel assistance to his office.

Records naming her can be reviewed through the Epstein Data Natalia Molotkova search and the Epstein Data Natasha Amex search.

More Than One Employee Was Involved

The released correspondence indicates that Epstein’s office interacted with more than one American Express employee.

Bloomberg reported that more than ten service personnel and approximately six travel advisers assisted the account at different times. Some employees helped arrange flights for women traveling from Lithuania, Russia, and other countries.

One employee was identified in correspondence only as Kathy. Molotkova reportedly described her as highly effective. Kathy assisted with a flight connected to a visa and another trip that Groff described as involving girls, while clarifying that one traveler was older than twenty five.

This terminology requires caution. The word girls is sometimes used informally for adult women. The email alone does not prove that the travelers were minors.

The larger pattern still matters. Multiple employees participated in a specialized service structure that arranged international travel for Epstein and people in his network.

Additional Cardholders

Some American Express cards connected to Epstein’s account were issued to additional users.

Released reporting identified Karyna Shuliak as an authorized cardholder with a reported monthly spending limit of $60,000.

A 2018 statement reportedly showed a Centurion card issued in the name of Celina Dubin, the daughter of Glenn Dubin and Eva Andersson Dubin. The statement was later released with more extensive redactions.

The presence of a person’s name on an authorized card does not prove participation in Epstein’s crimes. It establishes only that a card was issued in that person’s name or connected to the account.

Records concerning authorized users can be found through the Epstein Data Centurion search, the Epstein Data Karyna Shuliak Amex search, and the Epstein Data Celina Dubin search.

The 2019 Account Termination

American Express continued serving Epstein until his July 2019 federal arrest.

After the arrest, the company terminated his accounts. Released communications indicate that American Express then provided prosecutors with information about the different cards associated with Epstein.

American Express later told CBS News that it regrets having accepted Epstein as a customer.

The company stated that it strongly condemns abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. It also said that it takes its legal and regulatory responsibilities seriously, including the reporting of suspicious activity.

American Express did not publicly answer CBS News questions about whether Epstein’s travel transactions triggered internal warnings or whether the company considered his 2008 conviction when deciding to retain him.

The House Oversight Interview

In June 2026, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform questioned Lesley Groff during a closed interview.

Lawmakers asked about the American Express travel bookings, visa itineraries, and decoy flight correspondence.

Groff’s attorney argued that one decoy itinerary was intended to conceal the traveler’s plans from her parents rather than obtain a visa. That explanation was offered during questioning and should not be treated as an independently established finding.

The interview increased scrutiny of the American Express records because it moved the issue from media analysis into a congressional investigation.

As of August 2026, the public record did not establish that the committee had accused American Express of knowingly participating in trafficking. The questions instead focused on what the company’s services were used to accomplish and whether the activity should have produced compliance warnings.

Why the Transactions Raised Compliance Questions

Financial institutions maintain systems designed to identify suspicious activity, fraud, exploitation, and possible trafficking.

No single flight booking proves trafficking. International travel for adults is not inherently suspicious. Wealthy customers also commonly maintain multiple cards and use personalized travel services.

The concern arises from the combined pattern:

Epstein was a registered sex offender with a public conviction involving a minor.
He maintained numerous premium personal and business cards.
His office arranged international travel for many redacted women or girls.
Several travelers came from countries associated with recruitment into modeling or temporary work.
Some reservations were created for visa purposes and later canceled.
At least one request was acknowledged as contrary to American Express policy.
Other itineraries were expressly described as decoys.
Epstein’s staff demanded strict control over who received travel confirmations.
The relationship continued until Epstein’s 2019 arrest.

These facts do not prove institutional knowledge of trafficking. They do support asking what American Express knew, what its monitoring systems detected, and why Epstein remained a premium customer after 2008.

American Express and Suspicious Activity Reporting

American Express states publicly that it monitors, investigates, and reports potentially suspicious activity.

Financial institutions may be required to file confidential Suspicious Activity Reports when transactions present indicators of money laundering, fraud, trafficking, or other criminal conduct.

The existence or absence of a Suspicious Activity Report is generally confidential. The publicly released evidence does not establish whether American Express filed reports concerning Epstein before his 2019 arrest.

It would therefore be inaccurate to claim that the company never reported him.

The unresolved question is whether the visible activity generated internal reviews, customer risk changes, account restrictions, or reports to authorities.

American Express Was Not Epstein’s Primary Bank

American Express should be distinguished from Epstein’s deposit banks.

JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank maintained accounts that handled Epstein’s deposits, cash withdrawals, wire transfers, and broader financial activity.

American Express primarily supplied payment card, concierge, and travel services.

This difference does not remove its responsibility to monitor suspicious activity. It does mean that the evidence and legal questions are different.

JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank faced civil litigation alleging that their banking services facilitated Epstein’s trafficking operation. American Express had not been identified in the same major survivor settlements as of August 2026.

The absence of a comparable judgment or settlement should not be confused with a finding that the company’s controls were adequate.

What the Evidence Establishes

The available evidence establishes that:

Epstein was an American Express customer for decades.
He possessed premium Centurion cards and multiple additional card products.
American Express continued serving him after his 2008 conviction.
Epstein’s office had access to a designated American Express travel team.
American Express personnel arranged international travel for Epstein and numerous redacted women.
Some reservations were connected to visa applications.
Some itineraries were described as decoy flights that were not intended to be taken.
Epstein’s office requested that travel confirmations be restricted to a single recipient.
American Express terminated Epstein’s accounts only after his July 2019 federal arrest.
American Express later said it regretted having Epstein as a customer.

What the Evidence Does Not Establish

The available evidence does not establish that:

Every woman booked through American Express was a trafficking victim.
Every redacted traveler was a minor.
Every temporary reservation or visa itinerary was fraudulent.
American Express employees knew that Epstein was trafficking or abusing anyone.
Natalia Molotkova or other individual employees participated knowingly in Epstein’s crimes.
Every authorized cardholder knew how Epstein used the broader account.
American Express was criminally charged in connection with Epstein.
American Express failed to file every legally required report.

These limits are essential. The records justify investigation and accountability questions, but they do not justify turning unresolved questions into criminal findings.

Why American Express Matters

American Express provided Epstein with more than a method of payment.

Its Centurion operation gave his office a team of people capable of arranging complicated international travel, rapidly changing itineraries, assisting with visa documentation, and protecting the privacy of his movements.

That service continued after Epstein became a convicted sex offender.

The company’s role illustrates how elite service systems can become part of a larger logistical network without employees necessarily seeing the entire picture. Each employee may handle only one flight, hotel, card, or itinerary. The customer sees the complete system.

That fragmentation makes strong institutional monitoring essential.

The American Express records deserve continued investigation because they may help identify travel patterns, previously unknown associates, destinations, authorized cardholders, and the movement of women through Epstein’s network.

Key Takeaways

Epstein used American Express for decades and remained a premium customer after his 2008 conviction.
His office received personalized assistance from a designated Centurion travel team.
Released records show international bookings for numerous redacted women or girls.
Some bookings involved temporary visa reservations and flights described as decoys.
At least one American Express employee acknowledged that a requested arrangement was against company policy.
The evidence raises serious compliance questions but does not prove that American Express knew about trafficking.
American Express terminated Epstein’s accounts after his 2019 arrest and later expressed regret for having him as a customer.
Further review should focus on internal warnings, customer risk assessments, suspicious activity monitoring, and communications with law enforcement.

Epstein Data Evidence

Sources

PostedDecember 8, 2025