A recently released audio recording captures disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak discussing the “gigantic” sums paid to former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for his consulting work, and questioning his financial arrangements.In the recording, released by the United States Department of Justice as part of a massive new tranche of investigative files related to the disgraced financier, the men appear to be discussing strategies for former political figures to make money after leaving office.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listEpstein, whom Blair has admitted meeting once in Downing Street during his time as prime minister, talks approvingly of the significant sums being paid to the former United Kingdom leader for his work, but speculates that the money is not all going to Blair, with payments of some funds being made to other parties.The audio does not provide specific details about the other parties.Blair, a divisive figure who led the UK from 1997 to 2007 and was an architect of the catastrophic Iraq war, provided consultancy services to clients, including governments, through his firm Tony Blair Associates after leaving office.He reportedly closed the firm in 2016 to found the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which describes itself as a “not-for-profit, non-partisan organisation helping governments and leaders turn bold ideas into reality”. Epstein died while awaiting trial for sex trafficking [File: New York State Sex Offender Regist …
