Bill Gates cancels high-profile speech in India amid new scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates suddenly cancelled his participation as a keynote speaker at a major artificial intelligence summit in India, amid renewed scrutiny over his past ties to the controversial financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The unexpected decision became known just hours before his address at the India A.I. Impact Summit. Through a brief statement posted on X, the Gates Foundation informed the public, "After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit's key priorities, Mr. Gates will not be delivering his keynote address."

While the statement does not directly mention tycoon Epstein, the release comes following the recent release by the Justice Department of millions of pages of emails, text messages and photographs linked to the financier, convicted of sex crimes.

According to The New York Times, the released documents include notes attributed to Epstein with claims about Gates' personal life.

Among those documents, the pedophile wrote notes where he claimed that Gates had had extramarital affairs and that he had had to get drugs "in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls." However, a representative of the businessman flatly rejected these versions: "These claims — from a proven, disgruntled liar — are absolutely absurd and completely false."

The relationship between Gates and Epstein has been known since 2019, when it was revealed that the two held multiple meetings and explored the possibility of collaborating on philanthropic initiatives. Recently disclosed files have put the spotlight back on the extent of that link, including exchanges and materials that have raised new questions.

The documents also show connections to other public figures. Gates met former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland - then chairman of the Nobel Committee - through Epstein. According to records, Epstein attributed Gates' estrangement from him to the influence of his then-wife, Melinda French Gates.

In one of the messages included in the documentation, Epstein wrote: "She would love to sit with Melinda and give her the other side of jeffrey," referring to the possibility that attorney Kathryn Ruemmler would intercede with French Gates. According to a spokeswoman quoted by the NYT, that meeting never happened.

In parallel, the publication of these files has had consequences for other figures linked to the case. British authorities arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, while former Norwegian Prime Minister Jagland was charged with "serious corruption" for benefits he allegedly received from Epstein.

In a recent interview with an Australian network, Gates reiterated his version about the encounters with Epstein: "It's factually true that I was only at dinners, you know I never went to the island, I never met any women," and added: "And so the more that comes out the more clear it'll be that although the time was a mistake it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior."

As of Tuesday, prior to the event, the Gates Foundation had confirmed its participation in the summit in India. Finally, its cancellation marked one of the most relevant events of a meeting that brought together leaders such as Narendra Modi, Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.