ISTANBUL

The longtime accountant of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the co-executor of his estate said Wednesday that he “was not aware of the nature or extent of Epstein's abuse of so many women until after Epstein's death.”

“We tracked the expenditures as meticulously as possible, including gifts by Epstein to women and men. The gifts represent a very small fraction of Epstein's spending,” Richard Kahn said in a prepared statement from closed-door testimony to the US Congress.

“I did not see them as red flags for abuse or trafficking,” added Kahn, who managed Epstein’s finances, investments, and the Caribbean island estate, CBS News reported.

In testimony to the US House Oversight Committee, he acknowledged feeling regret: “It pains me to think, and I deeply regret, that I may have unknowingly assisted Epstein in any way.”

Kahn also said he agreed to serve as co-executor to help mitigate harm to victims, noting that the Epstein Victim Compensation Fund resolved claims by over 130 women and that the estate reached 60 additional settlements.

Kahn confirmed financial ties between Epstein and prominent clients, including Les Wexner, Glenn Dubin, Steven Sinofsky, the Rothschilds, and Leon Black, but said he “had never seen any type of transaction to Trump or anyone in his family.”

Democrats on the committee questioned Kahn’s claims of ignorance.

Rep. Robert Garcia of California said: “It's not credible that he had no knowledge of Epstein's activities, and his testimony today only raises more questions.”

Kahn’s counterpart and fellow executor, lawyer Darren Indyke, is scheduled to testify next week.

Kahn’s deposition is part of a broader congressional probe into Epstein’s network, which has already included testimony from Les Wexner and former President Bill Clinton, who denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

Jeffrey Epstein case

Epstein, who faced charges of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, including victims as young as 14, and running a sex trafficking network, was found dead in his Manhattan, New York jail cell in 2019.

Epstein’s court files named numerous high-profile individuals, including the former Prince Andrew, US President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former US Vice President Al Gore, actor Kevin Spacey, illusionist David Copperfield, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

A name appearing in the files by itself is not proof of wrongdoing.

The FBI -- in conjunction with the Justice Department, which oversees it -- recently concluded that there was no evidence to support the existence of a “client list” of prominent figures, though Attorney General Pam Bondi said last year that she had the actual list on her desk.

While some claims suggested that Epstein was killed to cover up the involvement of government officials, celebrities, and businesspeople, official investigations determined that Epstein died by suicide in his cell.