Days after it was revealed that disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein blackmailed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for his alleged affair with a Russian bridge player, a Daily Mail report has claimed that the woman was connected to a Kremlin spy.
Mila Antonova, the woman with whom Gates had the alleged affair, was captured in a photograph, strolling near Wall Street with spy Anna Chapman who was arrested in New York City in 2010.
The publication noted that the photo was likely clicked in 2009 or early 2010, the same period when Gates’ alleged romance with the Russian player commenced. The tech billionaire refused to comment if he knew about any potential link between Antonova and Chapman, the daughter of a former KGB officer.
The report raises fresh concerns over the nature of Epstein’s relationship with Gates and whether the latter caved into the paedophile’s pressure tactics and imparted crucial information to him which inadvertently could have ended up in Russian hands.
Watch | Jeffrey Epstein threatened Bill Gates over alleged affairs
Epstein blackmailing Gates
Earlier this week, a Wall Street Journal report claimed that Gates met Antonova around 2009 when she was in her 20s and they engaged in a romantic relationship. The two were involved while Gates was still married to his then-wife, Melinda French Gates.
In a YouTube video from the same year, Antonova recounted playing in a tournament with Gates. “I didn’t beat him [Gates] but I tried to kick him with my leg,” said Antonova.
Epstein met Antonova three years later in 2013 and paid for her to attend software coding school. She was looking for financial backers for a bridge academy and Boris Nikolic, a top adviser to Gates at the time, pointed her to Epstein.
Later, in 2017, Epstein, who had learned about the affair, brazenly emailed Gates and requested reimbursement for the course. It was an implicit yet subtle threat from Epstein that he knew about Gates’ business.
“The tone of the message was that Epstein knew about the affair and could expose it, the people said,” the Journal reported, adding that a Gates spokesperson said that the Microsoft founder “had no financial dealings with Epstein.”
Antonova told the Journal that she did meet Epstein but did not know who he was at the time, thinking he was just a “successful businessman” who “wanted to help”.
“Epstein agreed to pay, and he paid directly to the school,” she added. “Nothing was exchanged. I don’t know why he did that.”
(With inputs from agencies)
