UNDER SCRUTINY

Jeffrey Epstein Helped Billionaire Leon Black in Sneaky Art Deal

The deal in 2016 let him defer capital gains taxes.

The late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein helped private art collector Leon Black pull off a sneaky art deal in 2016 that let him defer capital gains taxes, according to The New York Times. Citing documents, the Times reports that Black made a $25 million sale of an Alberto Giacometti sculpture to a trust under Epstein’s control, and on the same day, a company affiliated with Black used the funds to buy a Paul Cézanne work for $30 million. The deal reportedly took advantage of a loophole in the tax law that closed in 2017, and has come under scrutiny as the Senate Finance Committee probes the ties between the two men. Between 2013 and 2017, Black allegedly paid Epstein $158 million for such services, an amount the Senate committee has suggested was “exorbitant.”