Former Goldman Sachs executive buys Epstein's New York mansion

A former executive for Goldman Sachs has been revealed as the buyer of Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion in New York, which sold last Wednesday for $51 million (£57 million).

A spokesperson for Michael Daffey said on Tuesday that he brought the property formerly owned by Epstein, a convicted sex offender and ex-financier, because he was “a big believer in New York’s future”.

The New York mansion was the most expensive estate in Epstein’s property portfolio, and the profit from last week’s sale will reportedly contribute to a compensatory fund for his victims.

As NBC reported, the estate had temporarily paused the payments to victims of Epstein because of cash flow.

They will resume following the sale of the $51 million (£57 million) mansion in New York’s Upper East Side to Mr Daffey, a former Goldman Sachs executive and trader in bitcoin.

A spokesperson Mr Daffey told NBC that he “had never previously been in the home nor ever met its owner, but he is a big believer in New York’s future.”

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They added that the former banker, who paid for the Epstein property with cash and a bridge loan, “will take the other side of all the people who say the city’s best days may be in the past.”

It follows the sale of Epstein’s former Florida mansion to the developer Todd Michael Glaser for $18.5 million (£13.3 million), of which the profits also contributed to the victim compensation fund.

Epstein was accused of carrying-out a number of sex crimes at both properties, which allegedly hosted underage girls who were forced to engage in sex acts, before he was arrested in July 2019.

The ex financier was found dead in his prison cell a month later, while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking.

Famous faces, including former US president Donald Trump, were allegedly photographed at the Epstein properties for parties in the 1990s. As was Britain’s prince Andrew, although both men afterwards distanced themselves from Epstein.

Famous faces, including former US president Donald Trump, were often photographed at the Epstein properties for parties in the 1990s, but Mr Trump has since distanced himself from Epstein.

Britain’s prince Andrew was also known to have attended the mansions, but vehemently denies any wrongdoing.

Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, will meanwhile face trial for allegedly helping to recruit underage girls for her then-boyfriend, in a trial set to begin this summer.