Stepping furtively through the streets of Paris, her face mysteriously shrouded, the figure in the heavy shawl was bound to attract attention – and so it proved.
For this was just months after the suicide of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. And the woman who seemed so anxious to avoid attention bore a remarkable resemblance to Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell – now the most hunted woman on the planet. Had she fled from America to France?
From the moment Epstein was found dead in his New York cell in August 2019, the focus of attention turned to longtime associate Ghislaine, even though she had never been charged with any crime. Victims of Epstein accused her of being a ‘madam’ – claims she vehemently denies and will vigorously contest in court when her trial begins later this month.
Victims of Jeffrey Epstein accused Ghislaine Maxwell (Pictured) of being a ‘madam’ – claims she vehemently denies and will vigorously contest in court when her trial begins later this month
A Ghislaine and brother Kevin lookalike (pictured) in Paris to dupe the world’s media and help her keep a low profile
Today, for the first time, we can reveal the lengths that Ghislaine went to in order to keep a low profile – which included the extraordinary tactic of hiring ‘lookalikes’ to stroll through Paris to dupe the world’s media.
In an exclusive interview, British security expert Matt Hellyer, a decorated former Paratrooper who headed the crack security team staffed with ex-SAS members that guarded the heiress for a year, said: ‘We went to an agency in France. A security collaborating agency. They found us two people who resembled Ghislaine and her brother Kevin.
‘They strolled in Paris for a couple of days and we leaked it to a newspaper. That is how we distracted the attention away from where Ghislaine really was. She was in the US at all times.
‘Ghislaine was not running from the authorities, she was running from the media.
‘And, you know, many people don’t believe Epstein killed himself. So we were also hired to protect her from a potential killer.’
The astonishing details of Ghislaine Maxwell’s year-long cat and mouse ‘game’ can be revealed for the first time today.
She insists that, far from ‘being on the run’ as many have accused her of being, she was, in fact, available at all times to the American authorities had they wished to question her.
Instead, she says, the FBI staged a dramatic early-morning raid on her final hideaway – an £800,000 estate in New Hampshire – to gain maximum publicity and paint her in the worst light possible.
Mr Hellyer, a friend of Ghislaine’s brother Kevin, was hired within hours of Epstein’s death.
A friend of Ghislaine’s brother Kevin (pictured) Mr Hellyer, was hired within hours of Epstein’s death to 'get her out of her home'
At the time, Ghislaine was living in a secluded £3 million ocean-front property in Manchester-by-Sea, Massachusets, with her husband Scott Borgerson, the couple’s dogs and Scott’s two children.
In his first interview for a new documentary Ghislaine, which will air in the UK and US after her November 29 trial ends, Mr Hellyer said: ‘Our assignment was to get her out of her home within 12 hours of Epstein’s death. She was worried about Scott’s kids. She didn’t want the cameras around them or anything to happen that could affect their lives. I told her we could fly her out of the country immediately. She refused.’
Ghislaine, who was turned down for bail for the fourth time this week, claims she never planned to flee the US. After all, why would she? She insists she is innocent of all charges against her of procuring young women for Epstein and of engaging in sexual assaults against them herself. Her youngest alleged victim was just 14.
Despite having UK, French and US passports, Ghislaine chose to remain in the States, a fact that she and her supporters insist shows she has nothing to hide.
But she was constantly on the move, from one ‘safe house’ to another, as she tried to outrun the media.
Mr Hellyer recalled: ‘Scott felt he could protect her but we convinced him she had to go. From then on, it was, “Where in the world is Ghislaine?” Everyone was speculating.
‘We did not hide her from the authorities. They knew that at any point if they wanted to talk to Ghislaine we would bring her safely to them.’
Indeed, Ghislaine’s legal team claim they reached out to the FBI – but never heard back.
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