Ghislaine Maxwell Offers To Renounce Citizenship In France, UK, In Exchange For Bail

Ghislaine Maxwell has offered to renounce her citizenship in the U.K. and France in her latest bid to get out of jail.

Maxwell, who is Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, has offered to give up her citizenship in both countries in exchange for bail. Her attorneys have argued that she’d be willing to make the move to prove she would not be a flight risk if she’s released on bail. They said they believe it would “eliminate any opportunity for her to seek refuge in those countries,” according to court documents obtained by the New York Post.

"Ms. Maxwell’s decision to give up citizenship from the country of her birth and the country of her upbringing demonstrates her earnestness to abide by the conditions of her release and underscores that she has no intention to flee and reflects her deep need to communicate freely with counsel to prepare for her defense,” her attorneys wrote.

Maxwell’s legal team also proposed that she and her husband — who has not been publicly identified — transfer the bulk of their $22.5 million estate into a special account to be overseen by an “asset manager” to limit her access to the significant assets, the Associated Press reports.

As part of the proposed agreement, the couple would reserve $500,000 for living expenses and more than $7 million to pay for legal fees.

This is Maxwell’s third attempt to seek bail since she was arrested in July. Authorities found her hiding out in a sprawling New Hampshire estate as publicity around the Epstein case had reached a fever pitch. She’s been accused of recruiting and grooming underage girls for years for the late financier to sexually abuse.

Authorities have also said that Maxwell “was present for and participated in the sexual abuse” of some of the minors, according to a federal indictment in the case obtained by Oxygen.com.

A judge has denied her request for bail on two previous occasions. In December, her lawyers suggested armed guards could stand outside her New York City residence to ensure she didn’t escape. But a judge ruled against the request, citing the seriousness of the charges against her.

For months, Maxwell’s attorneys have claimed the conditions within the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where she is being held, are unfit, saying she has been losing weight and her hair while behind bars, the New York Post previously reported.

In her latest bid for bail, her attorneys argued that Maxwell has been “denied a fair chance in the court of public opinion” after she has been “maligned by the media.”

“She has been relentlessly attacked with vicious slurs, persistent lies, and blatant inaccuracies by spokespeople who have neither met nor spoken to her,’’ the court documents alleged, arguing that she’s been depicted as a “cartoon character villain” in the case.

Maxwell is slated to go to trial in July and could face up to 35 years in prison if convicted, according to the BBC. Her attorneys insist she “welcomes the opportunity” to “clear her name” at trial.

Epstein, who had once dated Maxwell, died by suicide in August of 2019 while in federal lockup awaiting his own trial on sex trafficking charges. He was 66 at the time of his death.