Billionaire Leon Black to appear before House panel over ties to Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein provided financial services to Leon Black, the former Apollo Global Management CEO, between 2012 and 2017. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images View image in fullscreen Jeffrey Epstein provided financial services to Leon Black, the former Apollo Global Management CEO, between 2012 and 2017. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Billionaire Leon Black to appear before House panel over ties to Jeffrey Epstein Scrutiny of Black’s association with Epstein has intensified after DoJ released millions of files last year and this year The billionaire financier Leon Black is scheduled to appear Friday morning before the House committee on oversight and reform as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein . The interview will be conducted behind closed doors, though the committee is expected to release a transcript at a later date, as it has done with previous interviews. The former Apollo Global Management CEO has faced questions over his past ties to Epstein for years, with scrutiny intensifying after the justice department released millions of records related to Epstein late last year and earlier this year. In 2021, Black stepped down as chairman and chief executive of Apollo Global Management. According to a report commissioned by Apollo several years ago, Epstein provided financial services to Black between 2012 and 2017. After Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida state prostitution charges in 2008, including procuring a minor, Black became Epstein’s largest client, paying him a total of roughly $170m in fees, according to an investigation by the Senate finance committee . Black has described his work for Epstein as tax and estate-planning services. Among the documents released by the DoJ earlier this year was a document titled “PROMINENT NAMES”, which included Black. The document was part of the FBI’s investigation into Epstein, though it is unclear for whom the presentation was prepared, and it does not indicate or state that investigators verified any of the allegations referenced within it against the named men. Under Black’s name, the document lists several allegations, including one claim that “Epstein told [name redacted] to give Black a massage while Black was naked.” Another allegation states that “another female gave Black a massage and he made her perform oral sex.” Black has denied the allegations and any wrongdoing. Three women have sued Black for alleged sexual abuse, allegations that Black has repeatedly denied . One of the suits has been dismissed, one was withdrawn and one remains pending. Lawyers for Black have told the Guardian in a statement that the misconduct allegations raised against Black were false, and that “subsequent events have established with certainty that Mr Black’s account was truthful, and his accusers’ claims were not.” Black’s lawyer, Susan Estrich, also told the Guardian earlier this year that “of the three civil lawsuits filed against Mr Black, one has been d