Rajeev Misra
Misra is the target of a documented Epstein intelligence-gathering operation in which parallel law firms (Paul Weiss and Steptoe) pursued the same potential client while Epstein served as an undisclosed coordination node between them.
Rajeev Misra is a former Deutsche Bank credit trading executive who became CEO of SB Investment Advisers, the management arm of SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund. His career moved through three institutions where Epstein maintained financial or intelligence interests: Deutsche Bank (1996–2008), Fortress Investment Group (2014), and SoftBank Vision Fund (2017–present). No evidence indicates a direct personal relationship between Misra and Epstein.
Misra's significance to this investigation lies in the intelligence-gathering operation that Epstein mobilized around him. In January 2019, two of Epstein's most trusted legal advisors — Brad Karp (Chairman, Paul Weiss) and Reid Weingarten (partner, Steptoe & Johnson) — were simultaneously pursuing Misra's legal representation in connection with the "SoftBank caper," a reference to allegations that Misra had funded covert operations against SoftBank rivals. Epstein served as the shared but undisclosed coordination point between them, advising on engagement strategy and seeking background intelligence on Misra.
The Misra thread also connects to Epstein's broader monitoring of SoftBank deal flow, Gulf sovereign wealth activity, and the Carlos Ghosn arrest in Tokyo — tracked through a network spanning Qatari businessmen, New York Times journalists, and law firm chairmen. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported in February 2020 that Misra had paid $500,000 through a BVI company to fund covert operations — including alleged honey traps, planted media stories, and anonymous shareholder campaigns — against SoftBank executives Nikesh Arora and Alok Sama.
Career Path and Institutional Overlap
Misra's career created structural proximity to the Epstein network at three distinct institutions, though none of these overlaps implies personal acquaintance. From 1996 to 2008, he served as Global Head of Credit Trading at Deutsche Bank — the same institution that maintained Epstein's primary banking relationship, with over 40 accounts processing hundreds of millions in transactions. Misra's tenure overlapped substantially with the bank's service to Epstein, though the credit trading desk and private banking division operated independently.
In May 2014, Misra joined Fortress Investment Group, where Epstein was an investor in the Fortress Value Recovery Fund (VRF), the successor to DB Zwirn. DOJ documents 1 confirm that Fortress distributed $183,753.77 to Epstein's Jeepers LLC entity from the VRF. Richard Kahn, Epstein's financial manager, handled the Fortress correspondence. Epstein himself noted that "its too much money. returns are generated on small amounts" in reference to large-scale fund management.
By 2017, Misra had ascended to lead the SoftBank Vision Fund, capitalized by a $45 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). This placed him at the center of the largest technology investment vehicle in history and at the intersection of Gulf sovereign wealth and Japanese corporate power — both areas where Epstein maintained active intelligence networks. Epstein's contacts tracked SoftBank deal flow: Paul Barrett of Alpha Group Capital pitched Epstein on a Grab Taxi investment in November 2017, noting "Softbank is leading the round" at a $3.7 billion valuation 2.
The SoftBank 'Dark Arts' Campaign
In February 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that Misra had paid $500,000 from Standard Chartered Bank to Barkmere Group Ltd, a BVI company controlled by Alessandro Benedetti, in April 2015. The payment allegedly funded a multi-pronged covert campaign against SoftBank executives Nikesh Arora (then president of SoftBank) and Alok Sama (head of SoftBank's international operations) — both rivals for Masayoshi Son's favor.
The operations attributed to this campaign spanned multiple countries and methods. Women were allegedly dispatched to lure Arora to a Tokyo hotel room rigged with hidden cameras. K2 Intelligence, a corporate investigations firm, was hired to investigate both targets. Swiss operative Nicolas Giannakopoulos was recruited to distribute leaked banking records and emails. Freelance reporter Mark Hollingsworth was paid to plant a story in The Independent newspaper in October 2015. In January 2016, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP — the same firm where David Boies represented Virginia Giuffre in her lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell — sent an anonymous shareholder letter raising allegations against Arora. Giannakopoulos served as the nominal shareholder behind the claims.
Misra denied the allegations. SoftBank hired Shearman & Sterling to investigate but dropped the probe before reaching conclusions. Michael Klein, the investment banker who received $6 million in fees from Misra, had introduced Benedetti to various deals — creating a financial circuit between the alleged campaign funder, its alleged operator, and the M&A advisor who connected them. When Benedetti's expected executive position and profit share at SoftBank failed to materialize, his falling out with Misra appears to have contributed to the information reaching the WSJ.
Epstein's Intelligence Architecture Around Misra
The documented intelligence apparatus that Epstein mobilized around Misra provides a detailed view of how his network operated in practice. Between January 25 and January 28, 2019, Epstein conducted a concentrated intelligence-gathering operation on Misra and the SoftBank situation through at least three separate channels, none of which appeared aware of the others' involvement.
On January 25, 2019, Reid Weingarten — Epstein's criminal defense attorney and close personal advisor (245+ emails, regular breakfast meetings at 71st Street) — wrote to Epstein: "Rajeev misra....softbank vision fund...any special jeffrey insights here?" Epstein replied: "If he wants you to rep him. YES." The next day, Weingarten reported back: "He wants me to hire him....thinking about using him on the Softbank caper." Epstein advised: "go slow." Weingarten concurred: "As is often (but not always) the case you are correct....see if you can get the book on him." This exchange, from House Oversight documents 3, confirms that Epstein was advising on legal engagement strategy for Misra and positioning himself to obtain intelligence ("the book on him").
On the same day — January 26 — Epstein separately emailed Brad Karp, Chairman of Paul Weiss: "Rajeev misra do you represent?" Karp responded: "Sort of. Spoke to him yesterday" 4. This confirmed that Paul Weiss had some form of relationship with Misra and that Karp had spoken to him just the previous day. The Karp exchange occurred in the same email thread where Epstein described Carlos Ghosn as "a very very not good guy" — linking the Misra inquiry to the broader Tokyo corporate intelligence picture.
Weingarten's communications also show that he knew about Karp's involvement but wanted it kept hidden: "Very small fucking world....obviously dont mention my role with brad till we both think it useful." Epstein was thus the undisclosed coordination point between two elite law firms — Paul Weiss and Steptoe & Johnson — circling the same potential client. Two days later, on January 28, Epstein contacted Eduardo Teodorani Fabbri asking about Benedetti, the alleged operator of the smear campaign. The January 25–28 sequence represents a coordinated intelligence sweep across legal, personal, and European channels.
Epstein's SoftBank Intelligence Network
Epstein's interest in SoftBank and Misra predated the January 2019 operation. It drew on an intelligence network he had cultivated across Gulf, media, legal, and political channels. As early as October 14, 2016, Jabor Yousuf Jassim Al Thani, a Qatari businessman (United Group for Projects, Doha), forwarded Epstein a news link about MBS and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund's $100 billion SoftBank investment 5. Epstein's reply — "im aware, but its too much money. returns are generated on small amounts. otherwise its merely portfolio mgmt" — demonstrated both prior knowledge and an opinionated assessment of the Vision Fund's scale problem.
Landon Thomas Jr. of the New York Times independently sent the same SoftBank/MBS story to Epstein on January 3, 2017 — confirming that Epstein was receiving overlapping SoftBank intelligence from both Gulf and media sources. Epstein later introduced Jabor to Steve Bannon on November 11, 2018 ("Steve jabor - jabor - steve," EFTA02617269), adding a political channel to the network. This triangulation — Gulf source, media source, political broker, paired with the Karp and Weingarten legal channels — indicates a multi-source intelligence collection pattern directed at a corporate target.
The FII (Future Investment Initiative) 2018 speakers list, forwarded to Epstein by Aziza Alahmadi on August 12, 2018 6, provides the clearest snapshot of Epstein's reach into the SoftBank-Gulf nexus. The Riyadh conference list included Rajeev Misra (CEO, SB Investment Advisers), Marcelo Claure (SoftBank COO), Michael Klein (whose fees from Misra connected to Benedetti), Christian Sewing (Deutsche Bank CEO), Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan), Larry Fink (BlackRock), Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone), and Lynn Forester de Rothschild. Epstein possessed this complete list two months before Ghosn's arrest in Tokyo, establishing that he was tracking the full landscape of actors in the SoftBank-Saudi-Japanese corporate environment.
The Paul Weiss Dual-Client Problem
Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as a shared law firm between Misra and Epstein. Brad Karp, the firm's chairman, confirmed to Epstein that he "sort of" represented Misra while simultaneously serving as Epstein's primary legal advisor, personal confidant, and — as documented elsewhere in the investigation — the coordinator of Nardello & Co. surveillance operations on Epstein's behalf.
In August 2015, Epstein directed Karp regarding Nardello operatives: "probably a good idea for your nardello guy to be at the restaurant" 7. In September 2015, Epstein told Karp: "I would like to review the people on the ground in london and new york with you and nardello" 8. In October 2015, Nardello sent a "Draft Transcript" of a Four Seasons meeting to Karp 9. These communications establish that the same chairman managing Misra's relationship with the firm was simultaneously directing intelligence and surveillance operations for Epstein through the firm's corporate investigation resources.
A parallel dual-client pattern appears at Boies Schiller Flexner, which served as a vehicle in the SoftBank dark arts campaign (sending the anonymous shareholder letter against Arora in January 2016) while David Boies personally represented Virginia Giuffre in her lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell. Boies Schiller also represented both Harvey Weinstein's accusers and Weinstein himself. Weingarten's request to Epstein — "obviously dont mention my role with brad till we both think it useful" — confirms that the compartmentalization between these overlapping legal engagements was deliberate, with Epstein as the only actor who held the complete picture.
All Connections
14 total
All Connections
14 totalPaul Weiss represented Misra in SoftBank matters; Karp confirmed to Epstein Jan 26 2019
Weingarten evaluating potential legal representation of Rajeev Misra SoftBank Vision Fund as of Jan 25, 2019. Sought Epstein intelligence and endorsement before accepting engagement.
Misra paid Benedetti 500K via Barkmere Group BVI Apr 2015 for smear campaign. Benedetti expected exec position plus profit share. Falling out led to WSJ leak Feb 2020
Global Head of Credit and Emerging Markets (1997-2008). Helped finance SoftBank's Vodafone Japan LBO. Oversaw Lippmann's Big Short trade. Featured in US Senate investigation of Wall Street.
First worked together on 2006 Vodafone Japan LBO when Misra was at DB. Misra joined SoftBank 2014, became Vision Fund co-CEO 2017. Son trusted Misra to run fund. Misra left Nov 2024 but remains connected via OneIM.
OneIM () backed by Tahnoon's Royal Group and Mubadala. Misra works closely with Tahnoon inner circle: Syed Basar Shueb (IHC), Sofia Lasky, Peng Xiao (G42). Misra serves as key financial intermediary between Son and Tahnoon.
Both former DB traders who joined SoftBank. Both part of 'Masa whisperers' DB alumni cohort. Naheta ran SB Northstar while Misra ran Vision Fund. Both departed SoftBank and set up Abu Dhabi-connected ventures.
Epstein inquired about Misra in email to Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp on Jan 26, 2019 (EFTA02627134): Rajeev misra do you represent? Misra also on attendee list for private event (EFTA02603142, Oct 2018).
Both listed as speakers at FII 2018 Riyadh (Oct 23-25), both SoftBank executives. List sent to Epstein by Alahmadi Aug 12, 2018. David Stern met Claure in Tokyo Jun 2018. Claure-Misra-SoftBank triangle relevant to Ghosn intelligence gathering.
Karp asked if Epstein represented Misra
Weingarten considered hiring Soffer for the SoftBank caper — the Misra/Benedetti honey trap scheme. Soffer multi-jurisdictional criminal litigation expertise and European court access made him a candidate. Unknown if engagement proceeded.
All Findings
19 total
All Findings
19 totalfinancial (2)
Paul Barrett (Alpha Group Capital LLC, 142 W 57th St NYC) pitched Epstein on a Grab Taxi investment on Nov 13, 2017, explicitly noting 'Softbank is leading the round' at a $3.7B pre-money valuation. Barrett CC'd Richard Kahn (Epstein's financial manager). Barrett and Epstein had in-person meetings (Oct 23, 2018 confirmed). This shows Epstein's financial advisors were tracking SoftBank deal flow and positioning him for SoftBank-adjacent investments, further explaining his intelligence interest in Misra.
Misra's OneIM ( AUM) is backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed's Royal Group and Mubadala. Misra works closely with Tahnoon's inner circle: Syed Basar Shueb (CEO of International Holding Co, ), Sofia Lasky, and Peng Xiao (CEO of G42). OneIM has offices in New York, London, Abu Dhabi, and Tokyo. This makes Misra the primary financial intermediary between Son and Tahnoon.
communication (2)
Jeffrey Epstein emailed Brad Karp (Chairman, Paul Weiss) on Jan 26, 2019 asking 'Rajeev misra do you represent?' Karp replied 'Sort of. Spoke to him yesterday.' Same email chain discusses Carlos Ghosn ('a very very not good guy'). This places Epstein directly inquiring about Misra's legal representation just 7 months before Epstein's arrest.
Larry Summers emailed Epstein from Saudi FII 2017 conference (Oct 27, 2017): 'Softbank deputy guy i liked and seemed aware and honest re Son' and 'Spent time w Softbank deputy Najeev or some such PIF guy too.' This confirms Epstein's network was directly engaging with SoftBank/PIF representatives at the conference. Summers also commented on Mnuchin and war likelihood.
relationship (2)
Misra's career path creates multiple Epstein network intersections: (1) Deutsche Bank 1996-2008 as Global Head of Credit Trading — DB was Epstein's primary bank with 40+ accounts and .65M in co-conspirator payments. (2) Fortress Investment Group May 2014 — Epstein was an investor in Fortress VRF (Value Recovery Fund), which was the successor to DB Zwirn, and Fortress distributed funds to Epstein's Jeepers LLC entity. (3) SoftBank Vision Fund — Saudi Arabia's PIF is anchor investor; Epstein had deep Gulf connections via Jabor Al Thani, Alahmadi, Alrasheed, and Sulayem.
Epstein directly inquired about Rajeev Misra in a January 26, 2019 email exchange with Brad Karp (Chairman of Paul Weiss). EFTA02627134 shows Epstein asking Karp 'Rajeev misra do you represent?' -- this indicates Epstein was interested in Misra and potentially aware of the SoftBank power dynamics. The same document contains a reference to 'ghosen' (likely Carlos Ghosn, arrested Nov 2018). Misra also appears on a private event attendee list as 'CEO, SB Investment Advisers' (EFTA02603142, Oct 2018).
legal (1)
The SoftBank smear campaign used Boies Schiller Flexner LLP to send the anonymous shareholder letter against Arora in January 2016. This is the SAME Boies Schiller that represented Virginia Giuffre in her lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell (Giuffre v. Maxwell, SDNY 15-cv-7433). David Boies personally represented both victims of Epstein AND was used as a vehicle in the SoftBank dark arts campaign. Benedetti approached Boies Schiller, and Giannakopoulos was the nominal shareholder behind the claims. The firm also represented Harvey Weinstein victims while simultaneously having Weinstein as a client — a pattern of serving on multiple sides of intelligence/legal conflicts.
intelligence (10)
Paul Weiss, which represented Misra in the WSJ smear campaign story, was simultaneously Epstein's primary legal/intelligence firm. Epstein used Karp and Paul Weiss to run Nardello & Co. surveillance operations: 'probably a good idea for your nardello guy to be at the restaurant' (Aug 2015), 'I would like to review the people on the ground in london and new york with you and nardello' (Sept 2015), and Nardello sent 'Draft Transcript' of a Four Seasons meeting to Karp (Oct 2015). This means the SAME law firm managing Misra's defense against smear campaign allegations was running Epstein's intelligence/surveillance operations through the same chairman (Brad Karp).
Jabor Yousuf Jassim Al Thani (Qatari businessman, United Group for Projects, Doha) sent Epstein a SoftBank news link on Oct 14, 2016 about MBS/Saudi sovereign wealth fund's $100B SoftBank investment. Epstein replied: 'im aware, but its too much money. returns are generated on small amounts. otherwise its merely portfolio mgmt.' Landon Thomas Jr. (NYT) independently sent the same SoftBank/MBS story to Epstein on Jan 3, 2017. Epstein introduced Jabor to Steve Bannon on Nov 11, 2018: 'Steve jabor - jabor - steve.' This triangulates Epstein's SoftBank intelligence network: Gulf source (Jabor/Qatar), media source (Thomas/NYT), political source (Bannon), legal sources (Karp/Weingarten).
The FII (Future Investment Initiative) 2018 speaker list in Riyadh was forwarded to Epstein by Aziza Alahmadi on Aug 12, 2018. This list includes both Rajeev Misra (CEO, SB Investment Advisers, UK) and Michael Klein (Managing Partner, M Klein and Company) — both figures central to the SoftBank operation. Klein received $6M in fees from Misra and introduced Benedetti to deals. Other notable speakers on the same list: Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan), Larry Fink (BlackRock), Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone), Christian Sewing (Deutsche Bank CEO), Arianna Huffington, Simon Segars (ARM), Marcelo Claure (SoftBank), and Lynn Forester de Rothschild.
FII 2018 speakers list sent by Aziza Alahmadi to Epstein (Aug 12, 2018) includes both Marcelo Claure (SoftBank COO) and Rajeev Misra (SB Investment Advisers CEO) as confirmed speakers at the Riyadh conference (Oct 23-25, 2018). Also includes Christian Sewing (Deutsche Bank CEO). This establishes that Epstein had the complete FII guest list containing all key SoftBank executives 2 months before the Ghosn arrest.
The Karp-Misra inquiry sits within a broader Carlos Ghosn intelligence thread. Epstein asked Karp about Ghosn ('a very very not good guy') who was arrested Nov 19, 2018 in Tokyo and held incommunicado. Separately, Epstein asked Tom Pritzker to 'ask around re why' Ghosn was being held (EFTA02613108). The Ghosn connection is significant because: (1) Both Ghosn and the SoftBank honey trap involved Tokyo operations. (2) Ghosn was a major figure at Nissan/Renault — French-Japanese corporate intrigue. (3) Epstein was simultaneously tracking both Japanese corporate scandals through his legal/intelligence network. (4) Misra's former employer Deutsche Bank had significant Nissan/Renault banking relationships.
Weingarten asked Epstein about Misra on Jan 25, 2019: 'Rajeev misra....softbank vision fund...any special jeffrey insights here?' Epstein replied 'If he wants you to rep him. YES.' On Jan 26, Weingarten said 'He wants me to hire him....thinking about using him on the Softbank caper.' Epstein advised 'go slow.' Weingarten replied: 'As is often (but not always) the case you are correct....see if you can get the book on him.' This confirms Epstein had direct intelligence interest in the SoftBank operation and was actively advising Weingarten on Misra engagement strategy.
In the Jan 26, 2019 Weingarten-Epstein exchange, Weingarten raised a 'french/Israeli lawyer named ron soffer who has his main office in paris' and asked if Epstein knew him. Epstein replied he was 'very good friends with the sec gen council of europe, human rights court' and that 'they know each other well.' Weingarten was considering hiring Soffer and 'thinking about using him on the Softbank caper.' Weingarten also said 'Very small fucking world....obviously dont mention my role with brad till we both think it useful' — revealing that both Karp (Paul Weiss) and Weingarten (Steptoe) were simultaneously circling the Misra/SoftBank matter, with Epstein as the shared intelligence node between them.
SMOKING GUN: On Jan 26, 2019, Epstein emailed Brad Karp (Paul Weiss Chairman): '? ghosen a very very not good guy.' Karp replied: 'Indeed.' Epstein then asked: 'Rajeev misra do you represent?' Karp responded: 'Sort of. Spoke to him yesterday.' This confirms: (1) Epstein was probing about Misra through his lawyer 10 months after WSJ March 2018 expose, (2) Karp/Paul Weiss had some form of relationship with Misra ('sort of'), (3) Karp had spoken to Misra the day before (Jan 25, 2019), (4) Epstein called Carlos Ghosn 'a very very not good guy' — Ghosn was arrested Nov 19, 2018 in Tokyo. Just 2 days later (Jan 28), Epstein asked Teodorani about Benedetti. The entire Jan 26-28 sequence is Epstein intelligence-gathering about the SoftBank/Nissan scandals.
WSJ (Bradley Hope, Rob Copeland, Feb 2020) reported Misra paid $500K from Standard Chartered Bank to Barkmere Group Ltd (BVI company controlled by Benedetti) in April 2015 to fund smear campaigns against SoftBank rivals Nikesh Arora and Alok Sama. Operations included: (1) honey trap — women to lure Arora to Tokyo hotel room rigged with cameras, (2) K2 Intelligence hired to investigate targets, (3) Swiss operative Nicolas Giannakopoulos recruited to distribute leaked banking records and emails, (4) Mark Hollingsworth (freelance reporter) paid to plant story in The Independent (Oct 2015), (5) Boies Schiller Flexner sent anonymous shareholder letter (Jan 2016). Misra denies all; SoftBank hired Shearman & Sterling to investigate but dropped the probe.
Misra accused by WSJ (Feb 2020) of running dirty tricks campaign against SoftBank rivals Nikesh Arora and Alok Sama: paid Alessandro Benedetti (linked to Cambridge Analytica operatives) K via Standard Chartered to BVI entity Barkmere Group; planted negative press; organized shareholder campaign; attempted honey trap on Arora in Tokyo hotel. SoftBank investigated but Misra retained position until 2024.
identity (1)
Rajeev Misra served as Global Head of Credit and Emerging Markets at Deutsche Bank (1997-2008), overseeing Greg Lippmann's subprime short chronicled in The Big Short. Then Global Head of FICC at UBS (2009-2013). Joined SoftBank 2014, became co-CEO of SB Investment Advisers (Vision Fund) 2017. Left Nov 2024, now runs OneIM (B). Key: helped Son finance 2006 Vodafone Japan LBO (B) while at Deutsche Bank.
document (1)
Rajeev Misra listed as speaker at Saudi FII 2018 conference (Oct 23-25, Riyadh) in speakers list forwarded to Jeffrey Epstein by aziza alahmadi on Aug 12, 2018. Misra listed as 'CEO, SB Investment Advisers, United Kingdom.' Other attendees include Christian Sewing (CEO Deutsche Bank), Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Thomas Barrack, and Marcelo Claure (SoftBank COO).