A former Russian model, with whom billionaire former boss of Apollo Global, Leon Black, admitted to having an affair with, has claimed that she was forced by him to fly to Florida to have sex with convicted pedophile Jeffery Epstein. Guzel Ganieva, 38, who had sued Black in June, has now made the fresh allegations in an amended lawsuit filed on Monday.
Ganieva, in the amended lawsuit mentions that Black flew her in his private jet to Palm Beach to meet Epstein, whom he had had previously referred to as his "best friend."
Damaging Allegations
Ganieva branded Black, 69, a "violent, sadistic" sexual predator who raped and harassed her before coercing her into signing a non-disclosure agreement in a defamation lawsuit. However, she is now claiming Black, the married former CEO of Apollo Global Management, whisked her away to Florida to "satisfy the sex needs" of Epstein.
"Ms. Ganieva soon found herself alone with Black and Epstein in a room that appeared to be an office," according to the Manhattan state court complaint.
Epstein was already serving a prison sentence in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution but he was on a prison work at that time release that allowed him to work in his private office 12 hours a day, six days a week. According to the lawsuit, Black and Epstein were "in almost supine positions, as if they were waiting for her to get on top of them."
Black then "indicated with his eyes that he wanted Ms. Ganieva to come and lay in between him and Epstein," the lawsuit mentions. Despite the come-ons and constant nagging, Ganieva refused to sleep with the men, following which Black asked to leave the room. The visit only lasted a total of two hours.
Encountering Sex Addicts
Ganeiva, according o the lawsuit, was also warned by Epstein's assistant that the men are "sex addicts" and "there would be consequences" for displeasing them. A few hours later she and an angry Black flew back on Black's private plane to Teterboro, NJ, she alleges.
The fresh allegations might further pose problem for black. However, he continues to deny the allegations. Black's attorney, Danya Perry of Perry Guha, on Monday called the claims "demonstrably and transparently false."
The updated lawsuit "betrays her willingness to say anything and fabricate a story in the hope that something will stick," Perry said.
Black had earlier said that he and Ganieva had engaged in a consensual affair between 2008 and 2015, when, he claims, the model extorted him by threatening to make their relationship public if he did not pay her $100 million. While he did not meet her initial demand, in exchange for her silence Black said he agreed to forgive $1 million in loans he made to her, and to make $100,000 in monthly payments for 15 years - amounting to $18 million total.
Black's ties to Epstein have raised questions in recent years, forcing Apollo to issue the results of an internal investigation that found Black paid Epstein $158 million starting from 2013 to 2017 for professional advice on tax audits, wealth management and estate planning.
Black, who stepped away from the firm earlier this year after the probe was made public, has denied any personal dealings with Epstein.
