'A Grave Error': Bill Gates Names Russian Women In Epstein Blackmail Plot During Scathing House Testimony

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has provided a detailed and candid account of his interactions with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to the US House Oversight Committee, confirming for the first time that Epstein attempted to use details of his private life to exert pressure.

In a transcript released by the committee on 23 June 2026, stemming from a closed-door deposition held on 10 June, Gates identified the specific individuals caught up in the financier's alleged extortion scheme.

The billionaire named Mila Antonova, a Russian bridge player he met at a 2010 tournament, and Karima Nigmatulina, a Russian nuclear physicist, as two of the women with whom he had extramarital affairs during his marriage to Melinda French Gates.

Bill Gates' Russian Affairs Laid Out In Committee Transcript

Under questioning in the closed-door interview, Gates named Mila Antonova, a Russian bridge player he met at a 2010 tournament, and Karima Nigmatulina, a Russian nuclear physicist, as two of the women with whom he had affairs while married to Melinda French Gates.

He also acknowledged a third relationship with Dr Alice Jacobs Nesselrodt, a medical entrepreneur he met at a conference before 2010.

Gates told the committee that the affairs were 'painful' for his family but unrelated to his dealings with Epstein, which began in 2011 when he was seeking support for global health philanthropy.

Those contacts, he said, consisted of a series of dinners between 2011 and 2014. He insisted he never visited Epstein's island, ranch or Florida home and, in his words, 'never victimised anyone.'

The newly released 138-page transcript shows Gates confirming that his affairs with the two Russian women had already been made public earlier this year, but that he had not previously named them.

How Epstein Tried To Use The Russian Affairs As Leverage

According to Gates' account, the relationship with Epstein soured after the financier learned of his infidelities and began to see them as leverage. Gates testified that Epstein 'contemplated blackmailing me' once he understood the details of the affairs, adding that the financier 'brainstormed' how to pressure him to re-engage financially.

The clearest glimpse of that alleged pressure campaign comes from a draft email that Epstein wrote in July 2013, which the Department of Justice released.

In the unsent message, Epstein threatened to expose Gates' affairs and falsely claimed he had facilitated the encounters.

Another email, sent earlier, asked Gates to reimburse Antonova's tuition for a software coding course that Epstein had helped fund, a request that has since been widely interpreted as a veiled threat to go public about the affair.

Gates told lawmakers Epstein's claims went further in his private notes, where the financier alleged that Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted disease from 'Russian girls' and sought Epstein's help to procure antibiotics to pass covertly to his then-wife.

Gates has repeatedly rejected those claims as 'completely false', telling the committee, 'I never had an STD. I never gave medicines to anyone covertly.'

At one point in the testimony, Gates conceded it was possible he had once voiced a concern about a potential infection to a mutual associate, a shard of ambiguity that Epstein then spun into something far more toxic.

Bill Gates Calls Epstein Ties A 'Grave Error In Judgment'

Gates' representatives have stressed that he had 'zero financial dealings' with Epstein and that no payment was ever made in response to the financier's demands.

A spokesperson said Gates 'appreciated the opportunity' to cooperate with the Oversight Committee and noted that he answered every question during the nearly six-hour session.

In his opening statement, Gates described his decision to meet Epstein between 12 and 14 times from 2011 to 2014 as a 'grave error in judgment.' He said he believed at the time that Epstein could help introduce new donors to his philanthropic work, only to conclude that the promised funding 'led to nothing.'

He told members he ultimately cut off contact in 2014.

Gates has maintained that he 'never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct' during their interactions. Pressed by members, he acknowledged he may have been in the 'presence' of victims at events with Epstein but said he never knowingly interacted with them.

The fallout has not been confined to Capitol Hill. In February, during a town hall with staff at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates apologised for both his affairs and his links to Epstein.

The foundation has since commissioned an external review of its past engagement with Epstein and its vetting procedures for future partnerships, with an update expected this summer.

Melinda French Gates And The Personal Cost Of The Epstein Files

The release of Epstein-related documents and now the full Gates transcript have dragged old wounds back into the spotlight for Melinda French Gates. She has said in interviews that the public unspooling of emails and files tied to Epstein has revived 'incredibly painful' memories from the period leading up to the couple's 2021 divorce.

Gates' testimony also revealed an awkward detail involving one of his own lieutenants. He told the committee that Boris Nikolic, a senior adviser who knew Epstein, sometimes served as 'cover' when Gates arranged to meet one of the women, and was once sent in his place when Gates ran late.

The House Oversight Committee has already interviewed a string of high-profile figures about their connections to Epstein, including former senior US officials.

Gates, unlike some of those called under subpoena, appeared voluntarily. He has said he supports the full release of Epstein-related files and hopes the investigation 'will lead to justice for the victims.'

The committee is examining how the late financier cultivated powerful contacts, years after his 2019 death in a New York jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Bill Gates, 70, has not been accused of any crime linked to Epstein, but his name surfaced repeatedly in files disclosed by the US Department of Justice, including years-old emails Epstein wrote to himself describing lurid, and largely unverified, claims about the billionaire's private life.

The House Oversight Committee continues its investigation into how Epstein successfully cultivated relationships with high-profile figures, seeking to understand the extent of his influence and the nature of the networks he operated.