Code 2512: How Jeffrey Epstein Targeted Zelenskyy via Europe’s Political Elite

The Epstein files suggest that in 2019 – shortly before his death – Jeffrey Epstein may have been collecting information about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Office in the interests of Russia’s Valdai Club. One possible conduit for this information was the then-Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, Miroslav Lajčák.LIGA.net analyzed materials from the Epstein files alongside more than 50 pages of U.S. court documents from the case U.S. Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase. We identified relevant correspondence, cross-checked it against the official travel schedule of the OSCE chair and statements from the Ukrainian President’s Office, and spoke with representatives of Ukrainian intelligence, the OSCE, and Lajčák himself. This is how the scheme may have worked."What are your questions today? Energy?" a European Commission official asks me before the midday briefing in Brussels."No – the Epstein files," I reply."Phew. Thank God we don’t have to deal with that," the official sighs with visible relief."Unless just a little," I insist."Mandelson?.. You know, that was a long time ago. Back when he was a commissioner. 2004."This brief exchange in the corridors of Brussels captures a core problem of European politics: the desire to relegate "toxic" past connections to irrelevant history. But documents uncovered by LIGA.net in U.S. court archives show that these shadows of the past continue to shape Ukraine’s present.While European institutions attempt to forget Lord Peter Mandelson and his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, a new batch of Epstein-related documents reveals a far more troubling chain of events. In June 2019 – just 72 hours after then-OSCE Chair Miroslav Lajčák shook hands with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv – he was already seated at Epstein’s dinner table in Paris. What was he doing there?June 13, 2019. How it all happenedIn June 2019, Miroslav Lajčák arrived in Kyiv not as a private individual, but as the sitting Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE. In effect, he was expected to serve as Europe’s eyes and ears in talks with Ukraine’s newly elected president. But, according to U.S. Department of Justice documents, those "ears" may not have been working solely for Brussels.While official OSCE reports were still moving through bureaucratic channels, Lajčák was already preparing a separate "briefing" – for a man with no formal role in global diplomacy, but direct access to Wall Street capital."Btw, I’m visiting Zelensky this Thursday," reads one message from "Miro" to Jeffrey Epstein, a screenshot of which was released by the U.S. Department of Justice.Thursday was June 13, 2019. The following day, Ukraine’s Presidential Office published an official press release: newly elected President Zelenskyy meeting the Slovak diplomat in Kyiv, exchanging protocol smiles and discussing "strengthening cooperation."The press release quoted Zelenskyy as emphasizing that a ceasefire and restoring peace in Donbas were his top priorities, while Lajčák assured Ukraine of the OSCE’s readiness to support a sustainable peace process.Yet even as Kyiv placed its hopes in OSCE-backed diplomacy, Lajčák had other priorities.Within hours of those assurances, he left Kyiv – not for Vienna, where the OSCE is headquartered, nor for Bratislava to report to his government. He flew to Paris.When LIGA.net requested comment, institutions began deflecting responsibility. The OSCE referred inquiries to Slovakia’s Foreign Ministry. The ministry, in turn, distanced itself from Lajčák, stating it neither intended to defend nor accuse him – and claimed it did not even have his phone number or email.Today, Lajčák is a political outcast. On January 31, 2026, he was forced to resign as Slovakia’s national security adviser after the publication of the same Epstein files European officials prefer not to discuss. Speaking on Slovak radio, he attempted to downplay his correspondence with Epstein – including remarks about "beautiful women in Kyiv" – as nothing more than "silly male ego and banter."For Ukraine, however, this "banter" carries far darker implications.Lajčák has acknowledged that he viewed Epstein as someone who could "open doors to new contacts." And as the timeline of his travels shows, those doors opened precisely when Ukraine’s highest national interests were at stake.From Zelenskyy to Epstein in three days: what "code 2512" meansLajčák’s meeting with Epstein does not appear to have been a spontaneous decision following his Kyiv visit. It was arranged in advance – while "Miro" was still packing for Ukraine.REFERENCEFor decades, Lajčák was considered one of the most respected diplomats in Central and Eastern Europe, trusted with the most difficult international missions. His career path includes serving as President of the UN General Assembly and many years as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia. In 2019, he became the head of the OSCE, an organization that is a key arbiter of security and conflict on the continent. Lajčák was the diplomat who had direct access to the offices of all the leaders of the Normandy Four and Washington. He was considered the number one expert on peaceful settlement and strategic dialogue, and his analytical reports became the basis for decision-making at the highest level in the EU and NATO.On June 10, 2019, Epstein’s close associate Leslie Groff wrote to Lajčák’s assistant, Wanda Siposová:"I understand from Jeffrey that President Lajčák will have lunch with him at his Paris apartment on Sunday, June 16. Would 2:00 pm work?"The reply came immediately: "I’ve been informed that 2:00 pm works for Minister Lajčák."Epstein did not merely invite the diplomat – he provided insider-level instructions: the full address (22 Avenue Foch, Apt. 2DD), the entry code for the first door – 2512 – and Epstein’s private home phone number "in case of emergency."This means that while Lajčák was assuring President Zelenskyy of the OSCE’s commitment to peace on June 13, he already had the access code to Epstein’s Paris residence in his pocket.Speaking to LIGA.net, Lajčák denied any connection: "Believe me, these trips are completely unrelated. There is no link. It’s a pure coincidence that they happened close in time. Everything else is conspiracy."Asked why he had informed Epstein about his meeting with Zelenskyy, he acknowledged curiosity: "Ze was new at the time. But that was it. I wouldn’t share professional information with someone unrelated to my official duties." The Mandelson Effect and Global Counsel: How the network could workWhy would a pedophile financier want to know about the plans of Ukraine's new president? The answer is hidden behind the company's sign Global Counsel. It is an influential lobbying agency founded by a heavyweight in European politics, former European Trade Commissioner Lord Peter Mandelson.REFERENCELord Peter Mandelson has been called a "master of backroom games" in British and EU political circles. For decades, he shaped the development strategy of entire economies. As a key ideologue of the Labor Party, he served three times in the British government, but his true influence became global as European Commissioner for Trade. At that time, Mandelson was in fact the chief negotiator on behalf of the whole of Europe and determined the terms of economic cooperation with the United States, China, and Russia. His weight was so significant that any word he said could change the direction of capital flows worth billions of dollars.After his official career in Brussels, he remained one of the world's most sought-after political consultants, whose advice was bought by major investment banks and world leaders.The European Commission is not really sure how such a network could work. "We don't know any more than you do, and we also study everything through media reports," they told LIGA.net.During the midday briefing, the agency's spokespersons noted that they do not even have a "special Epstein group" to investigate all these cases. At the same time, it is interesting that they "cannot rule out" that there are other former or current EU officials on the lists.The fact that Global Counsel was not just the former commissioner's firm, but part of Epstein's ecosystem, became known thanks to a high-profile trial "US Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase". The correspondence released in the case proved: Epstein worked for years as a "gatekeeper" for Mandelson, personally connecting him with the bank's top management.In particular, Epstein organized meetings between Lord and then-JPMorgan CEO Jesse Staley. The bank's reports included regular consultations with Global Counsel on political risks in emerging markets.Ukraine in 2019, with its change of government, debts, and negotiations with the IMF, was a priority for the bank. Thus, the insight from Lajcak, passed on to Epstein in Paris through Global Counsel, instantly turned into a strategic advantage for JPMorgan.While the European Commission says that the ties of its former commissioners are "things of long gone days," Ukraine's intelligence services see a much more disturbing picture. According to information provided by LIGA.net The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, Epstein's interest in Ukrainian affairs through Mandelson had a clear vector to the East.Lord Mandelson had been in the focus of Russian intelligence for years. As a regular participant in the Valdai Discussion Club (Putin's ideological platform), he was seen by Moscow as a "promising person" to promote pro-Russian narratives in Europe.Intelligence confirms that Mandelson had business interests in Moscow, including being integrated into structures close to the Russian oligarchy (in particular, Sistema)."He was actually very close to Starmer," the source adds LIGA.net in intelligence. This closeness ended in a scandal in 2025, when the British prime minister was forced to urgently dismiss Mandelson as ambassador to the United States precisely because of the revelation of his ties to the Epstein network.Global Counsel did not respond to the request LIGA.net.Conclusions of the "2512 code"The case of Code 2512 raises issues that go far beyond the personal reputation of individual politicians.The chronology of events in 2019 shows that Ukraine could have become "transparent" to external actors at the time of its greatest transformation. When the new team on Bankova Street was just formulating its strategy for the IMF and the Normandy format, confidential insights about these processes could already be circulating in informal offices in Paris and London.If this data was at least partially known to lobbyists affiliated with the Valdai Club, it would create a hypothetical but very real advantage for Moscow in miscalculating Kyiv's moves.Such a leak could have turned Ukraine's government priorities into a kind of "information asset" for private financial groups and political actors. The main risk lies not only in the events of the past, but also in the viability of the system of such informal connections.If the networks of influence built up over decades continue to function, Ukrainian diplomatic and military initiatives may still face hidden resistance today, the reasons for which lie not in the official positions of states but in backroom agreements of the past years.The Brussels "blind spot" on the activities of former top officials leaves open the question of the security of European institutions.As long as ties with Epstein or Mandelson-level figures are treated only as "mistakes of the past," informal channels of influence remain a potential tool for manipulation.This forces us to perceive international support not only through the prism of official statements, but also through the need to carefully check those who have access to the top officials of the state, because sometimes the code to the door in Paris can mean more than protocol promises.Read also"Who lives in a little house?" How the Kremlin's recruitment pipeline works a few streets away from the European Commission

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