200 Signals in the Shadows – How the Location of Mobile Phones on Epstein Island Suggests a Disturbing Truth

It is one of those revelations that do not settle for being a scandal. They open a window into a parallel world – quiet, precise, inescapable. Nearly 200 mobile phones were located on Little St. James, Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous private island in the Caribbean, long after the financier was officially known as a convicted sex offender. The traces do not come from FBI files or official investigations but from the depths of commercial data streams. It is a digital echo that points back to people, movements, and power structures – and in doing so raises the question: Who was really there, and – they are disturbingly precise: They show not only when and how individuals moved on the island – from Epstein’s dock to his controversial temple building to the cabana houses on the beach – but also where they flew after their departure or where they returned. More than 166 residential and workplace addresses in the US were reconstructed – from gated communities in Michigan to nightclubs in Miami to street sections across from Trump Tower in Manhattan. The travel routes often begin at the Ritz-Carlton on St. Thomas, lead by boat to the island, stay briefly – and then vanish again into the fog of anonymity. But this data is more than just technical artifacts. It is part of a power cartel of money, secrecy, and abuse. Most of the registered devices were active on the island for only a few hours. Some never returned, others later appeared in places that have repeatedly been named in Epstein’s network: Palm Beach, New York, Washington. And although not a single name appears in the data, conspicuous patterns can be identified by cross-referencing with known flight logs, guestbooks, and court records – including trips by prominent individuals whose connections to Epstein had previously been downplayed as marginal. The explosiveness lies not only in the sheer volume of movement data but in its historical significance. While Epstein had already been convicted in 2008 – under a questionable deal that granted him only 13 months of jail time in a private wing of a prison – the flow of visitors to his island did not cease. Even in the years 2016 to 2019, the data shows lively activity, and on July 6, 2019, the last signals were detected, shortly before Epstein’s arrest. The digital cartography revealed not only the logistical infrastructure of a suspected abuse ring but also the gaps in a legal system that proved remarkably uninterested in wealth and influence.

The company Near Intelligence, now rebranded as Azira, evidently did not collect the data on behalf of law enforcement but as a by-product of the global surveillance economy. US data protection laws permit this form of tracking as long as it is not explicitly restricted by protected categories such as clinics or religious institutions. That Epstein’s island apparently does not count among these protected zones says more about the system than about the technology. The story of this data does not end with the company’s insolvency. Internal reports include references to contracts with the Pentagon, to dubious advertising partners, to targeted surveillance of abortion clinics on behalf of conservative groups. And it does not end with Little St. James: Epstein’s estate in Palm Beach, his property in New Mexico, and the yacht harbor on St. Thomas, through which many transfers were handled, also appear in the coordinates. A secret infrastructure – now exposed by the traces that no one was able to erase. It is a glimpse into the double standards of a digital age in which privacy is for sale and justice is optional. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect: the same technology that for years served to protect advertising campaigns could have been used to protect potential victims – but it wasn’t. And so a bitter aftertaste remains: It was not the system that failed. It worked exactly as it was designed – just not for everyone.

It is not legal proof in the juridical sense, what these maps and coordinates reveal. But they are proof that traces remain – even if the system refuses to see them. Perhaps that was the beginning of a kind of journalism that does not settle for what is said. But instead asks where someone was. And what they did there. And while the world turns away, another process begins: the transformation. In May 2023, US investor Stephen Deckoff (SD Investments) purchased both Little St. James and the neighboring island of Great St. James for 60 million dollars – the money went to Epstein’s estate administration. Large-scale construction began in 2024, and in 2025 an exclusive 25-room luxury resort is set to open. The former symbol of sexual exploitation is being rebranded: new pathways, white facades, modern architecture. Starting in 2026, the island plans to welcome wealthy guests – with helipad, villas, pool complexes. The new name of the island is still unknown. The story it tells has long been rewritten

To be continued .....

If independent, fact-based reporting matters to you, you can support our work directly. We do not run ads, we are not backed by corporations – we fund ourselves and rely on people who value what we do. Your contribution helps us pursue investigations, access court records, and sustain serious journalism. Thank you.