Virgin Islands to subpoena Leon Black, Apollo over Epstein ties

US Virgin Islands authorities will issue subpoenas to Leon Black and his private-equity giant Apollo Global Management, demanding that they fork over details of their ties to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Black, a billionaire buyout king who is chairman of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, has come under scrutiny for maintaining ties with Epstein …

Black, a billionaire buyout king who is chairman of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, has come under scrutiny for maintaining ties with Epstein — who killed himself last year while facing federal sex-trafficking charges — even after his 2008 guilty plea to procuring a minor for sex.

The subpoenas are part of a lawsuit that Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise N. George filed against Epstein’s estate in January accusing him of sexually abusing underage girls as recently as last year on his private islands Little St. James and Great St. James, which are part of the US Virgin Islands.

Last month, an Epstein accuser claimed in newly unsealed court documents that Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell used the private islands to host “constant” orgies and once flew in a group of European models to fulfill their sexual fetishes.

George’s office — which wants Epstein’s estate to forfeit the islands, and could distribute the more than $500 million he left behind to his victims in the region — filed a copy of a sweeping subpoena with a court there last week seeking information about Apollo’s relationship to Epstein and entities linked to him, records show.

As The Post has reported, Black listed Epstein as a director at his charity until the end of 2012, which he chalked up to a clerical error. Black — who has said he was “completely unaware” of the sex-trafficking charges against Epstein — has said the pervert money manager gave him advice on taxes, estate planning and philanthropy, but has kept mum on details.

In 2015, a company tied to Black’s charitable foundation donated $10 million to a charity backed by Epstein. Black also anonymously donated $5 million to the MIT Media Lab at Epstein’s urging, according to a university report, as well as several million dollars to Harvard professors.

The authorities have asked Apollo for financial statements and account records going back to 1998, along with any correspondence the firm had with Epstein or his companies in that time, according to a copy provided to The Post.

George’s office said authorities filed separate subpoenas targeting Black himself and other entities including Black Family Partners and Elysium Management, which reportedly handle part of Black’s $9 billion fortune.

The AG wants tax returns and financial statements from those two firms and are also seeking information from companies Black has used to amass his private art collection, according to the New York Times, which first reported on the subpoenas Sunday.

The AG also wants Black to hand over records related to the Southern Trust Company, Epstein’s startup that received millions of dollars in fees from Black and his firms, the Times reported. Southern Trust is one of more than 40 “Epstein Entities” named in the Apollo subpoena.

It’s uncertain when the subpoenas will be served as the coronavirus pandemic has largely shut down Virgin Islands courts, according to the Times.

An Apollo spokesperson said the company has never done business with Epstein. The spokesperson referred questions about the subpoenas to Black’s representatives, who did not immediately comment Monday.

Some of the information about Black’s payments to Epstein was unearthed in a review by Deutsche Bank, which reached a $150 million settlement with New York regulators last month for missing red flags in Epstein’s finances, according to the Times.