Bin Sulayem heads MMC Port after Epstein-linked DP World exit

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Bin Sulayem heads Malaysia’s MMC Port after Epstein-linked DP World exit: memo

July 15, 2026

SINGAPORE,— Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the former chairman and chief executive of logistics company DP World, has taken direct control of Malaysian firm MMC Port Holdings, after the group’s chief executive left the post immediately, a memo seen by Reuters showed.

The change hands full control of Malaysia’s biggest port operator to Bin Sulayem, an Emirati businessman who serves as MMC’s executive chairman.

He stepped down from Dubai based DP World in February 2026 following scrutiny of email exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein that were made public by the U.S. Justice Department.

Bin Sulayem has made no public statement about the Epstein emails.

Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Reuters could not immediately reach Bin Sulayem for comment.

The MMC memo, dated July 12, gave no explanation for the exit of chief executive Azman Shah Mohd Yusof and did not say when a permanent successor would be named.

Reuters could not confirm when Bin Sulayem, a longtime Dubai ports executive, was named executive chairman of MMC Ports.

A major port network on the Malacca Strait

Late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, left, and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Emirati businessman and Chairman and Group CEO of DP World, are seen in this undated handout image from the Epstein estate released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee in Washington, D.C., U.S., on December 18, 2025. Photo: House Oversight Committee Democrats/via REUTERS

MMC Ports operates seven ports along or near the Strait of Malacca, a narrow waterway connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean that plays a key role in global trade.

The strait ranks among the busiest shipping routes in the world. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has described it as one of the most important routes for oil transport by volume.

The company had been expected to launch what could have been Malaysia’s largest initial public offering in more than ten years, but Reuters reported in October that the listing plan had been delayed.

The July 12 memo, sent to MMC Port management and the chief executives of its operating ports, said matters that once went to the group chief executive should now go directly to Bin Sulayem’s office.

It stated that Azman had stopped serving as Group Chief Executive Officer of MMC Port, effective immediately.

The memo said the temporary reporting structure is intended to preserve steady leadership, governance and decision making throughout the group.

Bin Sulayem said in the memo that he expects operations and strategic projects to continue without interruption, and that the company will keep its business momentum while ensuring continuity and stability across MMC Ports.

DP World, among the largest port and logistics firms globally, announced on February 13 that Bin Sulayem had resigned immediately. The company named Essa Kazim as chairman and Yuvraj Narayan as group chief executive.