Canada’s second-largest pension fund says it’s suspending future investment plans with DP World over alleged ties between the Dubai company’s chief executive and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“We have made it clear to the company that we expect it to shed light on the situation and take the necessary actions,” a spokesperson for

Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec

in an emailed statement. “Until then, we are pausing additional capital deployment alongside the company.”

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, DP World’s CEO and chairman, swapped intimate and unguarded messages with Epstein before and for more than a decade after Epstein’s jail sentence in 2008 on charges that included procuring a minor for prostitution, as shown in emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice and others obtained by Bloomberg News last year.

The emails show the men exchanged contacts in business and politics, attempted to broker deals for one another and made explicit references to sexual encounters. Bin Sulayem wrote to Epstein often about visiting his private Caribbean island and even provided some help when Epstein was considering creating a private resort, the messages show.

DP World did not immediately respond to a request for comment on La Caisse’s decision. Neither bin Sulayem nor representatives for DP World responded to repeated requests for comment on a Bloomberg News investigation about the email exchanges.

DP World is one of the world’s largest operators of container ports, and it has a strong link to Canada, with La Caisse among its largest financial partners. The $496 billion pension fund holds stakes in several DP assets, including 45 per cent of the Canadian subsidiary.

The partnership was first announced in 2016 with commitments totaling US$3.7 billion in a new platform aimed at investing in ports and terminals globally. Other investments followed.

In 2022, La Caisse invested US$2.5 billion in DP World’s Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and National Industries Park in the United Arab Emirates.

All of the pension fund’s investments with DP World are in port projects, not the parent company, a spokesperson for La Caisse said.

DP World operates five port facilities in Canada. Last year it won a contract to operate the Port of Montreal’s future $2.3 billion terminal expansion.

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Bloomberg.com