Andrew aide advised Epstein to omit conviction on China visa form, files suggest

An aide to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor advised Jeffrey Epstein to illegally hide his child sexual abuse conviction to obtain a visa to China, according to the latest Epstein files release.David Stern, who was a close associate of both Epstein and the then prince, was asked for his help after the disgraced financier’s initial application for a visa was rejected.Stern advised Epstein’s assistant to make the application at the Chinese embassy in Paris and “in addition it will be better not to tick the boxes re being denied previously or criminal charges”.Stern added in the email chain of 2012: “Whether or not to do this should be J’s decision of course and not mine.”Epstein was given an 18-month jail sentence in the US in 2008 after pleading guilty to soliciting girls as young as 14.There is no suggestion that Mountbatten-Windsor knew of Stern’s advice and it does not appear that Epstein made the planned visit to Beijing.Stern, 48, was a fixer to Mountbatten-Windsor from about 2010 and a director of his Pitch@Palace business between 2016 and 2019. He was also close to Epstein, describing him as his mentor.Stern had proposed a year earlier that he and Epstein set up an investment office in Beijing for “high net worth individuals” and “very discreetly make PA part of it and use his ‘aura and access’”.PA is the abbreviation regularly used by Stern and Epstein in correspondence contained within the 3m documents released by the US Department of Justice relating to the disgraced American financier, who killed himself in his cell in 2019.It is unclear whether the idea for a Beijing office was developed but an email from the 23 June 2012 suggests the three men did conspire further about working together in Asia. Stern, a German national now believed to be living in the United Arab Emirates, wrote to Epstein that there were two options open to them.The first would be to launch a company called the Serpentine group, which would be a “new company for this purpose only”. The second was to use Stern’s company Asia Gateway, which “has history and accounts and prove (sic) of clients in the past and can be used”.Stern said he had “informed PA that you are thinking about the company set up and I will wait for your feedback before taking action … He replied that I should at least send the letter so we can proceed … I will wait for your instruction.”Epstein responded: “Send asia gateway.”Stern wrote back: “Understood and confirmed: it will be done as Asia Gateway. PA agrees to your decision. Letter will be send (sic) as below.”In the letter to Mountbatten-Windsor of which the royal was seemingly already aware, Stern wrote that Asia Gateway was an advisory firm based in South Kensington that focuses on “developing, structuring and investing in a wide range of projects, specifically connected to the United Kingdom”.It says: “My deep admiration for your relentless work as the UK’s special representative for international trade and investment serves as inspiration to the AG business model. Knowing your commitment to the UK and its trade and businesses I wonder if there is not more that could be done to establish a business network of unrivalled comparison.“Additionally and based on my thirteen years of business experience with China, AG aims to attract Chinese investors and companies to the UK market and relevant opportunities. I know this is an area of opportunity for the UK as a whole and is a priority for the UK government. I would be most honoured to discuss this approach with you personally and to understand, if it were possible, how AG can support your crucial work.”Stern and Mountbatten-Windsor have been approached for comment.Thames Valley police are liaising with prosecutors and examining material in the Epstein files in relation to allegations related to “misconduct in public office” by Mountbatten-Windsor.The former prince is alleged to have leaked confidential information to Epstein, including official reports of trips to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam in 2010 and 2011 when he was a government trade envoy. Trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality.According to the police, officers are seeking “to determine whether a criminal offence is suspected and whether a full investigation is required”.The former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson faces an investigation relating to the same alleged offence, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.Both men have denied any wrongdoing.