WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's Finance Committee on Tuesday revealed an ongoing probe into private equity billionaire Leon Black's financial ties with disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein, and said the investigation "uncovered serious tax issues."
The Senate panel said that a reported $158 million of payments in several installments from 2012 to 2017 by Black to Epstein for financial advice seemed "inexplicably large," given that Epstein was "neither a licensed tax attorney nor a certified public accountant."
A spokesperson for Black said the billionaire had "cooperated extensively" with the panel's probe and provided detailed information.
Black had previously acknowledged he paid Epstein for "legitimate financial advisory services."
Last week, the New York Times reported that Black paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to avoid any legal claims tied to an Epstein sex-trafficking investigation.
Persons:
Leon, Jeffrey Epstein, Black, Epstein, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Kanishka Singh, Jonathan Oatis
Organizations:
Senate's Finance, New York Times, U.S . Virgin, Forbes, Apollo Global Management, Thomson
Locations:
U.S, Washington