Hardeep Puri Clarifies ‘Exotic Island’ Emails With Epstein, Tells He Had No Knowledge Of Crimes: Report
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, in an exclusive interview with NDTV, responded to questions about his past email exchanges with disgraced American financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying he did not know about Epstein’s criminal activities at the time.
The clarification comes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that Puri’s name appeared in documents linked to Epstein that were recently released in the United States.
Speaking to NDTV, Puri said he was unaware of Epstein’s background when he first met him in 2014.
“No, I did not,” Puri told NDTV when asked whether he knew about Epstein’s history at the time. He explained that during the first meeting, where Epstein was present, he did not know who he was and later looked him up online.
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“On the first meeting, we Googled him,” he told NDTV, adding that there was also an internal discussion on whether to meet him.
According to NDTV, Puri said the meeting took place when he was associated with the International Peace Institute (IPI) and serving as Secretary General of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM), a project under the IPI.
He said the visit was part of a delegation and not a personal engagement.
Puri told NDTV that the ICM was formed to examine whether the United Nations was “fit for purpose” as it approached its 75th anniversary. He said the commission included well-known global figures and focused on international governance issues.
“We were trying to look at the world. We didn’t invite Epstein there,” clarifying that Epstein was not part of the commission’s core work.
He added that he met Epstein “three or maximum four” times in delegation contexts and that Epstein was never a personal acquaintance.
“I’ve never been to that island, he’s never been to my house,” Puri said during the interview with NDTV.
According to NDTV, a December 2014 email exchange between Puri and Epstein has drawn attention. In one message, Puri referred to Epstein’s “exotic island” while sending seasonal greetings.
Explaining the phrase, he told NDTV that he often used such expressions casually and that no deeper meaning should be attached to it.
“I have an expression I use with everybody… Which exotic place are you in?” he said, asking people not to read into the wording.
In another email response, Puri had written, “Have fun.” Addressing this, he told NDTV that while he was aware of certain allegations surrounding Epstein by 2014-15, he did not know the full extent of the crimes that later emerged publicly.
Puri rejected suggestions of wrongdoing and said that in public life, one meets many individuals, some of whom may later face legal issues.
“Many of the people I interact with at the political level have been convicted of something,” adding that he did not want to appear defensive about past meetings conducted in a professional context.
The Union Minister also told NDTV that references in the email chain included discussions involving well-known global figures and were not related to any inappropriate activity.
