'Did Nothing Illicit', Says Bill Gates Over Epstein Link, Admits Affairs With Russian Women

Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates has apologised over his ties with child sex-offender Jeffery Epstein, while admitting to affairs with two Russian women.

"I apologise to other people who ‌are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made," he said, citing a The Wall Street Journal report.

The Journal added that Gates also acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered, but that they did not involve Epstein's victims.

"I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit," Gates told the employees at Gates Foundation.

On his photographs released as part of the Epstein files, he said were taken after Jeffrey Epstein’s requested pictures with his assistants following their meetings.

“It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender," he said.

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Gates said he knew about an “18-month thing” that had restricted Jeffrey Epstein’s travel but acknowledged that he did not thoroughly investigate Epstein’s background. He also said he kept meeting with Epstein even after his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, raised concerns in 2013.

“Knowing what I know now makes it, you know, a hundred times worse in terms of not only his crimes in the past, but now it’s clear there was ongoing bad behavior,” Gates told his staff.

Meanwhile, the Epstein file documents that acknowledge Gates ties with the sex-offender indicate that both kept meeting after Jeffery Epstein's prison term to discuss Microsoft co-founder's philanthropic efforts.

Documents released by the US Department of Justice also included pictures of the Microsoft founder posing with women whose faces are redacted. Gates has previously said the relationship with Epstein was confined to philanthropy-related discussions.

Earlier ‌this month, the tech billionaire pulled out last-minute from attending India's AI Impact Summit.