Douglas Flint received package from Epstein while at HSBC, files show
The incoming chair of Prudential received a mystery package from Jeffrey Epstein while he was finance director of HSBC, the recent release of Epstein files shows.
Douglas Flint, who had a decades-long career at Europe’s largest bank, culminating as its chairman from 2010-2018, received the parcel in the early 2000s according to records released by the US Department of Justice and seen by City PM.
Flint was one of four London addresses to have received a parcel at the time, Fedex delivery records show, with the deliveries taking place shortly before Christmas. Andrew Mountbatten was one of the others.
The delivery to Andrew, which was sent by Epstein from New York, cost $27, the invoice shows, while the Flint parcel cost $50, implying a larger gift.
Flint is understood not to recall the contents of the package, which was sent more than two decades ago and prior to Epstein’s first conviction for procuring a child for prostitution in 2008.
While at HSBC, Flint met with Epstein on at least one occasion, though this is understood to have been a short informal meeting. There is no suggestion of the former bank director engaging in any impropriety.
Both HSBC and Prudential declined to comment.
Flint left HSBC in 2018 to become chairman of IP Group in 2018, before being hired as the chairman of Standard Life Aberdeen in 2019. Prior to the 2024 general election, he was part of a small group of top City figures appointed to an advisory board by Labour leader Keir Starmer.
Last month, it was announced that Flint would become the new chair of insurance giant Prudential, with the exec set to join the company’s board in May.
Web of connections
The disclosure adds Flint to a long list of finance executives mentioned in the Epstein files, a collection of millions of documents released by the Department of Justice.
Epstein, a financier-turned paedophile, had an extensive web of connections in the world of finance, in both London and New York.
Epstein appears to have campaigned to install Jes Staley as the chief executive of Barclays, the records show, and also conversed with then business secretary Peter Mandelson over a plan to “mildly threaten” to the government over taxes on banks.
Mandelson has since resigned as a House of Lords peer. The chief executive and co-founder of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm Global Counsel has quit with immediate effect after revelations about his and his company’s connection with Epstein caused clients to sever or reconsider ties to the firm.