Epstein files show Kaaba cloth pieces from Mecca shipped to him via UAE-linked contacts

Newly released files include emails detailing a shipment of sacred cloth from the Kaaba in Mecca to the United States, arranged through contacts linked to the United Arab Emirates and delivered to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The correspondence, dated February and March 2017, shows UAE-based businesswoman Aziza al-Ahmadi working with a man named Abdullah al-Maari to organise the shipment of three pieces connected to the Kiswa - the black, gold-embroidered cloth that covers the Kaaba at the centre of Islam’s holiest site in Saudi Arabia.

The Kiswa carries deep religious meaning for Muslims worldwide. Each year, the cloth is removed from the shrine and replaced with a new one, with parts of the previous Kiswa treated as highly valuable artefacts.

Emails in the Epstein files show the items shipped by air freight from Saudi Arabia to Florida via British Airways, with coordination spanning invoices, customs arrangements and delivery inside the United States.

The messages describe three separate pieces: one from inside the Kaaba, one from the outer covering that was used, and a third made from the same materials but not used. The correspondence describes the unused piece as a way to classify the shipment under “artworks”.