Lancaster University appears to have scrubbed mentions of German global entrepreneur and investor Nicole Junkermann, mentioned named 3474 times in the Epstein files, from its website.
A press release reporting her appointment last September as Visiting Professor in Practice for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, for example, has been removed.
The University says the honorary position Miss Junkermann was appointed to has been reviewed and revoked, and enhancements have been made to the process to avoid this happening again.
Lancaster University’s newly-installed Vice Chancellor Professor Steve Decent has also told Green Party North Lancashire he has asked for a full investigation into the nature of this appointment and if this relationship was known to staff at the time and for full transparency into this investigation.
In a statement, Lancaster University has said: “Lancaster University is a values-led institution, committed to acting with responsibility and integrity.
“Nicole Junkermann is not an employee of Lancaster University and our connection with her is currently being reviewed.
“Lancaster University stands in solidarity with all victims of gender-based violence.”
“Extensive” email trail
The Lancaster Tab and other media outlets, including the Daily Telegraph, report that, according to files released by the US Department of Justice, Nicole Junkermann, a German billionaire and countess, founder of NJF Holdings investment company, apparently engaged in extensive email communication with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Their communications continued long after Epstein’s first conviction for procuring a child for prostitution in 2008, and continued until the year of his death in 2019.
Her emails with Jeffrey Epstein included intimate language, and flight logs indicate she travelled on his private jet as early as 2002. During the early days of the Me Too movement, messages attributed to her to Epstein’s legal team suggested hope that the scrutiny would fade.
Being mentioned in the Epstein files does not imply wrongdoing. A spokesperson for Nicole Junkermann has stated she was “deceived and misled” by Epstein, and that she was “manipulated into trusting him”, calling his crimes “appalling.”
Following the revelations, however, Nicole Junkermann has resigned from her position as a trustee of the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, and as director of two companies: Kolmen Limited, the company name for NFJ Holdings; Spoon Guru, an AI technology company based in Ireland.
University hoped for “unique perspective”
On her appointment as a Visiting Professor, former Vice Chancellor, Lancaster University Professor Andy Schofield had been generous with praise for the entrepreneur and Ms. Junkermann had said she was keen to put “Lancaster, Lancashire and the North West firmly on the global innovation map.”
“Nicole’s track record as an entrepreneur and investor gives her a unique perspective on what it takes to bring new technologies to life,” he was quoted as saying in the now-scrubbed press release, which described her as a leading early-stage investor in areas including artificial intelligence, deep tech, biotechnology, and the future of healthcare. “Her experience will enrich our teaching and research, inspire our students, and strengthen Lancaster’s position – and that of the wider North West – as a hub for innovation and enterprise.”
Ms Junkermann investments were listed as including pioneering companies in secure communications, genomics, machine learning, and regenerative medicine with her direct holdings including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Rippling, Halcyon.
According to investigations by the Telegraph, Jeffrey Epstein and Nicole Junkermann exchanged hundreds of emails, continuing even after his conviction. She appears 3475 times in Epstein’s files, which raised questions about the depth of their ties.
BBN Times reports these communications revealed a personal rapport, with Junkermann affectionately calling Epstein “baby” and “Mr. Wonderful.” One particularly striking email from 2010 reportedly asked, “Will you have a baby with me?” highlighting the intimate nature of their relationship.
Epstein facilitated introductions to influential figures like Bill Gates, Ehud Barak, and Ariana de Rothschild, potentially aiding Junkermann’s career. One email thread from Epstein, for example, mention the head of the John Templeton Foundation. Trump insider Tom Barrack, a private equity investor, is also mentioned.
In one 2013 email thread, Epstein writes to her asking if she knows any “multilingual” girls in their 20s of “good family” to be his Chief of Staff in New York. When Junkermann asks for additional details, Epstein says the girl must be “elegant, well poised” and “educated”.
In 2020, Nicole Junkermann shared her advice to young businesses on how to survive the year with Bianca Barratt at Forbes.com, noting almost all of the world’s successful companies have strong, memorable founders at the helm.
“The founders,” she explained, are “what really makes for a solid investment. When I invest, I am primarily investing in the people behind the businesses.”
Nicole Junkermann: Statement on Jeffrey Epstein
Responding to press enquiries, a spokesperson for Nicole Junkermann told media: “The scale Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes is appalling. As a woman and a mother, Nicole was completely deceived and misled by him and deeply regrets their conversations regarding personal and professional matters.
“These conversations took place at a time in her life when she was vulnerable, and she was manipulated into trusting him and consulting him with the most personal of matters. Nicole has been absolutely horrified to come to understand his true nature and the suffering he inflicted on women and girls through his abuse of trust, power and manipulation.
“Her thoughts today are completely with his victims, and she looks forward to the day the real predators face justice.”
• The Lancaster Tab: Lancaster University visiting professor mentioned 3,475 times in the Epstein files
• The Telegraph: The German countess who advised the NHS and called Epstein ‘Mr Wonderful’ (Paywall)
• The scrubbed Lancaster University press release is archived in full on Wayback
• Companies House: Nicole Junkermann Appointments
• BBN Times: Who is Nicole Junkermann?
Epstein Files References
1. File Number – EFTA01814342
2. File Number – EFTA01946468