Nina Keita introduced the sex offender to her uncle and involved him in efforts to free a politician from prison, according to documents.

The Epstein affair, with its far-reaching ramifications, also has a lesser-known African dimension. In Ivory Coast, several prominent public figures were named in the three million documents published on January 30 by the US Department of Justice.

Among them, Nina Keita, niece of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, holds a prominent position. This 44-year-old former model, who served as an advisor to Budget Minister Abdourahmane Cissé (2014-2016), is married to Employment Minister Adama Kamara. Since 2019, she has been the number two at Gestoci, the state-owned company managing Ivorian oil funds, and an influential figure within the ruling circle in Abidjan.

The copious correspondence – hundreds of messages exchanged between 2011 and 2018 – between Keita and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in New York in 2019, reveals a close friendship and a partnership with blurred boundaries, characteristic of the American financier.

According to these documents, in 2011, Keita introduced his uncle, then newly elected president of Ivory Coast, to Epstein in New York, and arranged a second meeting in Abidjan in 2012, where the American also met with several sitting ministers to discuss investment projects.

Keita also served as an intermediary between Ouattara and Epstein during the negotiations that led, in 2014, to the purchase of an Israeli surveillance system and the acquisition of a Boeing 727 for the presidency.

According to the report, Nina began corresponding with Epstein in 2011.

But, according to the Times, the correspondence also takes a darker turn.

In May 2011, Keita asked Epstein if he wanted to meet one of his friends in Paris. He replied: "How old is she? Tell me about her. Do you have other friends?"

Keita replied: "She's 25. But she also has many friends in Paris. You can meet her first and ask her; I'm sure she'd be delighted to do so."

Months later, after a meeting that appears to have taken place at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, Epstein wrote: "Ask [name withheld] to send me pictures of his sister. I'd prefer she be under 25."

That same year, Epstein mentioned the possibility of selling his Boeing 727 – believed to be the famous Lolita Express – telling Keita: "I'm told your uncle is trying to charter my 727. The same one you traveled in Europe on. I suggest he buy it instead."

No sales appear to have taken place.

In January 2012, Keita set up a busy schedule in Abidjan, including meetings with the president, the ministers of Economy and the Interior, and senior officials, including the late Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who later became Prime Minister.

Before one of their dates, she wrote: "And what's your bedtime? Hamed has something planned for you, but I'm afraid it might go on very late (dinner at his place with his wife + drinks somewhere + private party in his penthouse (he knows what you like))."

Years later, Keita also emerged as a central figure in efforts to free Karim Wade, son of former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade.

After his incarceration for corruption in 2015, Wade begged Epstein for financial assistance to hire American lobbyists.

“[Wade] is asking you again if you could help him hire a lobbying firm (as I told you before). Jeffrey really needs your help… Many of his friends have disappeared, he only has a few left, and most people are afraid to help him.”

Emails indicate that Epstein sent $100,000. When Wade was released the following year, Keita wrote, "Thank you for everything you did for him!"

This information comes as the US Department of Justice released on January 30 more than 18,000 images and 2,000 videos, totaling 14 hours of footage, in a batch of more than three million files related to the deceased child sex offender.