Inside, alongside the cash and diamonds, lay the passport — issued in 1982 under the name "Marius Robert Fortelni"

When FBI agents chainsawed into Jeffrey Epstein’s locked safe, they braced for stacks of cash… but what they uncovered froze prosecutors in their tracks.

$70,000 in crisp bills. Forty-eight glittering loose diamonds. And a dusty Austrian passport from the 1980s — Epstein’s face staring back, but under a stranger’s name. Residence? Saudi Arabia.

His lawyers spun it at the bail hearing: “Just a relic for hijacker protection. He’s Jewish. Never used it.”

The prosecutor fired back, waving the document: “It’s stamped. France. Spain. UK. Saudi Arabia. Used multiple times.”

The judge pressed: “How’d he get this? Dual citizenship?”

Crickets.

But the real bombshell? Epstein had been jetting to Saudi Arabia for three decades. December 2016 emails: His assistant asks, “Book the Four Seasons in Riyadh? Or is the king handling it?”

He returns loaded with gifts — personally from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

April 2018: MBS shuts down the Louvre in Paris for a private tour with 400 guards. Epstein texts: “I’m heading over.”

Raiders also found framed photos: MBS grinning among U.S. presidents and tycoons. Hard drives labeled with names and dates. Emails hinting at a $490 million deal, two billionaire clients, and a shadowy business no one could pin down.

Summer 2019: Epstein plots another Saudi jaunt. July 6: Feds nab him at the airport.

Bail hearing explodes: Victims rise. “I was 16… he’s terrifying on the streets.” “I was 14… pure evil.”

Bail denied. August 10: Epstein dead in his cell.

The FBI never spilled everything from that safe. What secrets died with him? If the passport was fake, what else was?

This web of passports, princes, and payoffs is unraveling — and the full story will shatter illusions.

When federal agents raided Jeffrey Epstein’s opulent Manhattan townhouse in July 2019, they anticipated finding evidence tied to the financier’s alleged sex-trafficking operation. What they discovered in a locked safe, however, added layers of intrigue: $70,000 in cash, 48 loose diamonds, and an expired Austrian passport bearing Epstein’s photo but issued under a false name, listing his residence as Saudi Arabia. The find, detailed in court documents and media reports, intensified scrutiny of Epstein’s international travels, his connections to Middle Eastern royalty, and the opaque sources of his fortune.

The raid occurred days after Epstein’s arrest on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy. Agents from the FBI and New York Police Department descended on the seven-story mansion at 9 East 71st Street, a property Epstein had acquired through complex transactions linked to his longtime benefactor, billionaire Leslie Wexner. Armed with a search warrant, they employed a saw to breach the safe in Epstein’s master bedroom suite. Inside, alongside the cash and diamonds, lay the passport — issued in 1982 under the name “Marius Robert Fortelni” (variations in reports include “Fortelni” or “Forelli”), with stamps indicating entries into France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia during the 1980s.

Prosecutors highlighted the passport during Epstein’s July 15, 2019, bail hearing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Rossmiller described it as evidence of Epstein’s flight risk, noting the document’s foreign issuance and Saudi residence listing. Epstein’s defense team countered that the passport was obtained decades earlier for “personal protection” amid hijacking threats, advising Jewish Americans to carry non-Jewish-identifying documents. They claimed it was unused and stored forgotten. Prosecutors rebutted this, pointing to the entry stamps as proof of active use. Judge Richard Berman questioned Epstein’s potential dual citizenship, but no clear answer emerged.

The passport’s Saudi connection resonated amid revelations of Epstein’s longstanding ties to the kingdom. Documents released in 2025 and 2026 by the U.S. Department of Justice, including emails and photos, show Epstein traveling to Saudi Arabia as early as the 1980s and maintaining contacts into the 2010s. In December 2016, Epstein’s assistant emailed about accommodations for a Riyadh trip: “Did you need me to book the Four Seasons for you in Riyadh? Or is the king taking care of it?” Epstein returned with a gift — a traditional Bedouin tent complete with carpets — reportedly from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

Further emails detail Epstein’s interest in Saudi affairs. In 2017, amid MBS’s purge of rivals at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, Epstein received updates urging him to “keep close eye on what is going on in Saudi right now.” He referenced his MBS relationship while seeking investment ties. In April 2018, during MBS’s Paris visit where the Louvre was closed for him with 400 guards, Epstein messaged: “I’m heading over.” A framed photo of Epstein and MBS was displayed in Epstein’s mansion among images of presidents and billionaires.

Epstein’s Saudi engagements extended to cultural artifacts. 2017 emails show arrangements for shipping pieces of the Kiswa — the embroidered cloth covering the Kaaba in Mecca — from Saudi Arabia to Florida, coordinated with UAE contacts. These items, gifted by Saudi authorities to dignitaries, were described as having religious significance.

The safe also contained hard drives, some labeled with names or dates, alongside other passports. Agents seized over 300 GB of data from devices, including photos and videos potentially linked to Epstein’s crimes. Reports suggest some evidence vanished between initial entry and warrant execution.

At the bail hearing, two victims testified emotionally. One, aged 16 at the time of alleged abuse, called Epstein “a scary person to have walking the streets.” Another, 14 when victimized, deemed him “anyone more evil.” Judge Berman denied bail, citing flight risk and danger. Epstein died by suicide on August 10, 2019, in his cell.

Unanswered questions linger: How did Epstein acquire the fake passport? What business justified his Saudi visits? Emails hint at a $490 million deal involving two billionaire clients and an inexplicable model — possibly tied to Wexner or Saudi figures, though details remain speculative. Epstein’s wealth, estimated at over $500 million, lacked clear origins beyond managing Wexner’s finances via a 1991 power of attorney.

The DOJ’s 2025-2026 releases, including over 3 million pages, continue to expose Epstein’s network. No charges stemmed from the passport or Saudi ties, but they underscore Epstein’s ability to navigate elite circles despite his 2008 conviction. Victims’ advocates call for further probes into enablers.

Epstein’s case remains a stark reminder of power’s perils, with the safe’s contents symbolizing hidden facets of his life — from fabricated identities to royal alliances — that may never fully surface.