Named in the Epstein Files: Rixos Owner Fettah Tamince Breaks His Silence

As newly unsealed documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein continue to send shockwaves around the world, a familiar name from Turkey’s tourism elite has surfaced in the global scandal. Fettah Tamince, the billionaire owner of the Rixos hotel chain, is now listed in documents connected to Epstein, the late financier accused of running an international child abuse and prostitution network.

The revelation has reignited old controversies, reopened unresolved cases, and placed Tamince under an intense spotlight he has long avoided.

Emails, “Massage Interns,” and a Luxury Hotel in Antalya

According to the documents, email correspondence from 2017 links Epstein-related intermediaries to the Rixos Premium Belek Hotel in Antalya. The emails reportedly discuss directing young women to the hotel under the description “massage interns.”

While the documents do not allege direct contact between Epstein and Tamince, the appearance of the Rixos name in such correspondence has raised immediate and serious questions.

Facing mounting public pressure, Tamince responded through journalist Kenan Taş, who relayed the account during an appearance on Cüneyt Özdemir’s YouTube channel.

“He Is My Friend. He Asked for Something, and We Did It”

Kenan Taş described his first-ever direct contact with Tamince following the allegations.

“I had never spoken to him before,” Taş said. “After these claims emerged, I messaged him and asked what he thought. He replied, saying he was on a plane and would return in the evening. After landing, he said he called me first.”

According to Taş, the conversation was tense from the start.

“He asked me, ‘What do you want to ask me?’ I said, ‘I want to ask about the parts of the Epstein files where your name appears.’ He said, ‘What exactly are you asking?’ I told him there is an email sent to you by Sultan bin Süleyman.”

Tamince’s reaction was immediate.

“‘Do you know who he is?’ he asked me. I said yes. ‘Do you know how important he is?’ he said.”

Taş explained who Sultan bin Süleyman is: a Dubai-based billionaire who controls roughly 10 percent of the world’s container trade and has an estimated fortune of $20 billion.

Tamince’s explanation was blunt and unequivocal.

“‘He is my friend. He asked for something, and we did it,’” Tamince said. “That’s all there is to it.”

“I Never Met Epstein”

Taş pressed further, asking whether Tamince had ever communicated with Epstein directly.

“‘Look, Kenan Bey, I have never met this man,’” Tamince replied. “‘I have no connection or contact with him whatsoever. Therefore, we have nothing to do with this.’”

According to Tamince, the entire process began solely at the request of someone he deeply respected.

“The process started only because a close friend of ours, someone I value, asked us for it,” he said.

The Question of the “Greeting”

Another detail in the emails raised eyebrows: Tamince’s assistant allegedly sent an email to Epstein that included Tamince’s greetings.

Taş asked directly whether that greeting came from Tamince himself.

Tamince denied it.

“He said he did not send it,” Taş explained. “He said his assistant speaks with dozens of people every day, and that passing along greetings on someone’s behalf is normal.”

“It Is Very Saddening”

As the call progressed, the tension gradually eased.

“‘Everything I have done so far is visible,’” Tamince said. “‘I am someone who works for tourism in Turkey. We produce a product for the world. Is it right that people can so easily stain us and destroy us on social media? It is very saddening. I want to say that I am upset.’”

A Past That Refuses to Stay Buried

The Epstein files are not the only shadow following Tamince. His past includes an admission that he was once involved with members of the FETÖ network, which led to a formal investigation.

More troublingly, Rixos hotels have previously been linked to unresolved and deeply disturbing cases.

The Death of 16-Year-Old Burak Oğraş

In 2011, Burak Oğraş, a 16-year-old intern at a Rixos hotel, was found dead in a swimming pool. His death was officially ruled suspicious, and a report by the National Criminal Bureau classified the incident as “homicide.”

Despite this, Tamince’s statement was taken only 13 years later.

Burak’s father, Murat Oğraş, continues his relentless fight for justice, refusing to let the case fade into obscurity.

The Savarona Scandal Resurfaces

The Epstein revelations have also revived memories of the infamous Savarona yacht prostitution case. Journalist Alican Uludağ noted that Tamince’s name appearing again has reopened questions surrounding the 2010 raid on the luxury yacht.

During the operation, gendarmerie forces detained Russian and Kazakh businessmen alongside foreign women. Among those present was Kazakh billionaire Aleksander Mashkevich.

Prosecutor Yusuf Hakkı Doğan charged 10 suspects, including Tevfik Arif, who was accused of leading the network. Arif was later acquitted, while others received prison sentences.

Court records show that on March 24, 2011, Fettah Tamince was questioned as a suspect in the expanding investigation.

Soon after, Prosecutor Doğan was reassigned. The file was transferred to special-authority prosecutor Osman Şanal, who would later be sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison for “membership in an armed terrorist organization” following the July 15 coup attempt.

Questions That Refuse to Go Away

Today, Tamince insists there was no wrongdoing, no contact with Epstein, and no hidden agenda. Yet the convergence of the Epstein files, past investigations, unresolved deaths, and resurfacing scandals has reignited public scrutiny.

As more documents are examined and more voices come forward, one question continues to echo louder than the rest:

Was this merely a favor for a powerful ‘friend’, or another chapter in a much darker story still waiting to be fully told?