Newly released federal documents reveal how Swiss banking giant UBS facilitated financial transfers that enabled Ghislaine Maxwell to purchase her secluded New Hampshire compound before her 2020 arrest on sex trafficking charges.
The Department of Justice files show UBS processed an $8 million transfer in November 2019 that ultimately funded Maxwell’s acquisition of “Tucked Away,” a $1.1 million estate spanning 156 acres in rural Bradford, New Hampshire.
The banking transaction took place three months after federal criminal investigators had served UBS with a grand jury subpoena demanding details about Maxwell’s financial activities as part of a child sex trafficking investigation. Despite being notified on August 1, 2019, that the bank would terminate her account within 30 days, UBS still processed the substantial money transfer that November.
Financial crime expert Tom Kirchmaier from the London School of Economics explained the significance of these revelations.
“Banks that are told of a secret criminal inquiry, as UBS was, typically do everything they can to find publicly available information to justify holding up the suspect’s money,” he said.
The federal subpoena, issued by the Southern District of New York on August 16, 2019, specifically mentioned a criminal “felony” investigation and requested confidentiality to avoid impeding the probe. Jeffrey Epstein had died in custody just days before the subpoena was issued.
UBS declined to provide comment regarding Maxwell or explain why the payment was processed, citing client confidentiality policies.
Maxwell received a 20-year prison sentence in 2021 after being convicted of recruiting and grooming underage girls for sexual abuse, as well as participating in some instances of abuse herself. Her legal team had argued she was being blamed for Epstein’s criminal conduct. Maxwell’s current legal representative declined to comment on the banking revelations.
Senator Ron Wyden, who has investigated financial flows related to Epstein’s criminal enterprise, criticized the banking industry’s handling of wealthy clients.
“The pattern we’ve seen from our investigations of Epstein and a lot of other high-net-worth criminals is that the banks look the other way because they know ultra-wealthy clients can pack up and take their money across the street any time they want,” Wyden stated.
“Ghislaine Maxwell wasn’t just some minor accessory to Epstein’s crimes, she was an essential part of his trafficking operation that reached all around the globe, and she’s accused of participating in abuse herself,” he added.
Maxwell’s arrest occurred at the remote property after FBI agents navigated a half-mile dirt road marked with “No Trespassing” signs. During the purchase process, she had assumed the identity “Janet Marshall” and told the real estate agent she was a journalist seeking privacy.
When federal agents apprehended her, they discovered a cell phone wrapped in aluminum foil to prevent tracking and a security detail composed of former British military personnel hired to protect her during her time in hiding.
Federal investigative documents from April 2022 trace the money flow from UBS to Maxwell’s New Hampshire refuge. The records show UBS transferred nearly $8 million on November 12, 2019, from a Montpelier Trust account established by Maxwell to a TD Ameritrade account managed by her then-husband Scott Borgerson.
The money subsequently moved through additional trusts before being used to purchase the Bradford property. Just days before the transfer, on November 6, 2019, UBS was still coordinating with the FBI regarding documents requested in the August grand jury subpoena.
Court documents filed by Maxwell’s accounting team in October 2020 estimated her and Borgerson’s combined assets at approximately $22.5 million. Much of this wealth originated from the 2015 sale of an Upper East Side Manhattan townhouse for $15 million, though the source of her ownership of that property remains unclear.
The Swiss bank managed various accounts containing cash, stocks, and other investments for Maxwell, assigning two relationship managers to handle her business. At its peak, UBS was overseeing $19 million in Maxwell assets, with $4.1 million remaining in accounts held by Maxwell and Borgerson as of October 2020.
Suspicious Activity Reports filed by financial institutions provide additional insight into Maxwell’s banking activities. Federal correspondence from April 2022 references a report suggesting the New Hampshire property “was purchased with proceeds from Human Trafficking,” though the reporting bank is not identified.
Following Maxwell’s arrest, UBS filed a Suspicious Activity Report covering more than $18 million in transfers from her accounts to Borgerson between December 2014 and July 2020.
British bank Barclays also maintained accounts for Maxwell, holding $2.4 million of her funds at the end of 2018. In the three weeks following Epstein’s July 2019 arrest, UBS received over $600,000 in deposits transferred from her Barclays account to cover credit card expenses.
Barclays declined to comment on its business relationship with Maxwell, while the Justice and Treasury Departments also declined to discuss the case.
The “Tucked Away” property has since been sold and is currently back on the market, with Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty marketing it as ideal for privacy-seeking buyers.
