The TerraMar Project

Last updated
The TerraMar Project
  • The TerraMar Project
  • TerraMar (UK)
FormationSeptember 2012;12 years ago (2012-09)
DissolvedDecember 2019;5 years ago (2019-12)
TypeEnvironmental
Legal status
  • Non-profit organization
  • charity
PurposeProtection of oceans
Location
Region served
Global
Founder
 Ghislaine Maxwell

The TerraMar Project was a self-described environmental nonprofit organization. It was founded in 2012 in the United States by convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell. [1] [2] A sister organisation in the United Kingdom was incorporated in 2013. [3] TerraMar (U.S.) announced its closure on 12 July 2019. This was shortly after New York federal prosecutors arrested Maxwell's behind the scenes boss Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was a financier who was being charged with sex trafficking crimes for a second time. [4] [5] TerraMar (UK) was officially dissolved on 3 December 2019. [3]

Contents

History

The TerraMar Project, United States

The TerraMar Project was founded on 26 September 2012 at the Blue Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Conference in Monterey, California, and focused on the 64% of the ocean that lies outside any single country's jurisdiction. [2] Their mission was to create a "global ocean community" based around the idea of shared ownership of the global commons, also known as the high seas or international waters. [2]

In 2014, on behalf of the TerraMar Project, Maxwell gave a lecture at the University of Texas at Dallas and later that year, a TED talk, about the importance of ocean conservation. [1] Maxwell also spoke at the United Nations as the founder of the TerraMar Project. [6] She accompanied Stuart Beck, a 2013 TerraMar board member, to two United Nations meetings to discuss the project. [7] Maxwell presented at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland in 2013. [8]

Scott Borgerson, listed on TerraMar's board of directors for 2013, appeared with Maxwell at the Arctic Circle conference. [8] In June 2014, Maxwell and Borgerson spoke at an event in Washington, DC, sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, titled "Governing the Ocean Commons: Growing Challenges, New Approaches". [9] [8] TerraMar's commitment to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) was showcased by the Clinton Global Initiative. [10]

Tax documents for U.S. organization the TerraMar Project consistently list Ghislaine Maxwell as the organization's President. The TerraMar Project's address was in New York City for Form 990 tax filings from 2012 through 2015, with later filings showing a Woburn, Massachusetts address for 2016 and 2017. [11] The New York Times reported that TerraMar gave out no money in grants between 2012 and 2017 and that it was described as having unusually high accounting and legal fees for an organization of its size. [8]

Questions were also raised about what TerraMar entailed beyond the high profile appearance by Maxwell at the United Nations and on the TED stage. [9] In 2017, an executive at a maritime firm made multiple requests for project funding to TerraMar's development director Brian Yuratsis that were ultimately denied despite Yuratsis professing interest in having TerraMar sponsor the project. [9] [12] [13] The maritime executive who made the requests stated that "My impression was that TerraMar as a whole was pretty hollow", and that "It seemed like Brian was the entire organization." [9]

On the organization's IRS annual return, the organization reported that it owed $560,650 to Ghislaine Maxwell, it owed $1,341 of credit card debt, and it had $10,252 of cash, as of 31 December 2018. [14] During 2018, the organization had spent $5,365 for professional fees, $9,380 for website development, $11,157 for advertising, and $270 of bank fees, but it spent nothing toward program services. [14]

Epstein was charged with new sex trafficking crimes on 6 July 2019. Epstein was a close associate of Maxwell. The TerraMar Project announced its closure six days later, on 12 July 2019, via Twitter and a statement on its website. [6]

TerraMar (UK)

TerraMar (UK) was a separate private limited company in the United Kingdom. [3] It was incorporated in August 2013 in England and Wales, with the directors being Maxwell, Lucy Clive and Catherine Vaughan-Edwards. [3] The company was run by Maxwell with a similar mission to the TerraMar Project.[ citation needed ]

The mission of the charity TerraMar (UK) was published as "the conservation, protection, and improvement of the environment" and, in particular, "the oceans, seas, coastlines and tidal areas", including "the conservation and protection of endangered marine flora and fauna, and the education of the public in the fields of marine conservation, marine ecology and related areas". [3]

TerraMar (UK) was reported by The Times to have joined the "secretive messenger app service Telegram" on 10 August 2019, the same date on which Epstein died in prison. [15] The application for the UK organization to be officially closed was made on 4 September 2019, with the first notice in The London Gazette made on 17 September 2019. [16]

The company was listed as active, with a Salisbury address, until the company was listed as officially dissolved on 3 December 2019. [3]

Founder convicted

TerraMar's founder, Ghislaine Maxwell, was arrested in July 2020 and charged with six counts related to the sexual abuse and trafficking of minors and lying to investigators. [17] On 29 December 2021, Maxwell was convicted on five of six charges.

Organization

The Board of Directors of the TerraMar Project (US) included former Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) Amir Dossal – who handles $1 billion in the form of a grant from Ted Turner for charities, media executive Steven Haft, and Ariadne Calvo-Platero, daughter of the peer Lord Beaumont of Whitley, Maxwell’s best friend from Oxford. [5] [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Andrew, Duke of York</span> British prince (born 1960)

Prince Andrew, Duke of York is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger brother of King Charles III. Andrew was born second in the line of succession to the British throne and is now eighth, and the first person in the line who is not a descendant of the reigning monarch.

Theodore William "Ted" Waitt is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Waitt is a co-founder of Gateway, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mar-a-Lago</span> Historic resort in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.

Mar-a-Lago is a resort and National Historic Landmark in Palm Beach, Florida. It spans 126 rooms and 62,500 sq ft (5,810 m2) built on 17 acres of land. Since 1985, it has been owned by United States president-elect Donald Trump. The estate has been his primary residence since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carole Radziwill</span> American journalist (born 1963)

Carole Ann Radziwiłł is an American journalist, author, and television personality. Throughout the course of nearly two decades working as a journalist and producer for ABC News, her reporting earned her three Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and a GLAAD Media Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Epstein</span> American sex offender and financier (1953–2019)

Jeffrey Edward Epstein was an American financier and child sex offender. Born and raised in New York City, Epstein began his professional life as a teacher at the Dalton School despite lacking a college degree. After his dismissal from the school in 1976, he entered the banking and finance sector, working at Bear Stearns in various roles before starting his own firm. Epstein cultivated an elite social circle and procured many women and children whom he and his associates sexually abused.

Ian Maxwell is a British businessman and co-founder of the think tank Combating Jihadist Terrorism. In the 1990s, Maxwell was acquitted of charges of criminal financial malpractice relating to the business practices of his father, publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands</span> Private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Little Saint James is a small private island in the United States Virgin Islands, southeast of Saint Thomas. It was owned by American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from 1998 until his death in 2019. During Epstein's ownership, the island acquired the nickname Epstein Island.

Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. After the end of his presidency, he continued to be active in the public sphere, touring the world, writing books, and campaigning for Democrats, including his wife, Hillary Clinton, who served as the junior U.S. senator from New York between 2001 and 2009 and the 67th United States Secretary of State between 2009 and 2013, on her presidential campaigns in 2008, in which she was runner-up for the Democratic nomination, and in 2016, when she lost the election to Donald Trump. After Clinton left office, he ended up forming a close friendship with George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush, and later, with their son George W. Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghislaine Maxwell</span> British child sex trafficker (born 1961)

Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell is a British former socialite and convicted sex offender. She was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with the deceased financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2021. She was sentenced in federal court in New York City to twenty years' imprisonment in June 2021.

Steven Haft is an American media executive, attorney and film producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Jeffrey Epstein</span> 2019 American death in custody

The death of American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein occurred on August 10, 2019; guards found Epstein unresponsive in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. After prison guards performed CPR, he was transported in cardiac arrest to the New York Downtown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:39 am. The New York City medical examiner and the Justice Department Inspector General ruled that Epstein's death was a suicide by hanging. Epstein's lawyers challenged the medical examiner's conclusion and opened their own investigation, hiring pathologist Michael Baden.

<i>TrueAnon</i> American politics podcast

TrueAnon is an American politics and gossip podcast hosted by Brace Belden and Liz Franczak. The podcast initially focused on deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The title of the podcast is a parody of the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Virginia Louise Giuffre is an American-Australian campaigner who offers support to victims of sex trafficking. She is an alleged victim of the sex trafficking ring of Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre created Victims Refuse Silence, a non-profit based in the United States, in 2015, which was relaunched under the name Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR) in November 2021. She has given a detailed account to many American and British reporters about her experiences of being trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Maria K. Farmer is an American visual artist known for providing the first criminal complaint to law enforcement, to the New York City Police Department and to the FBI, in 1996 about the conduct of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Farmer, a figurative painter, had described her and her sister Annie's experiences of sexual misconduct from Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to a journalist at Vanity Fair in 2002 but the publication refrained from including it in their accounts.

Spencer T. Kuvin is an American lawyer based in Florida. He is best known for representing victims of billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Luc Brunel</span> French model scout (1946–2022)

Jean-Luc Didier Henri Brunel was a French model scout. He gained prominence by leading the international modelling agency Karin Models, and founded MC2 Model Management, with financing by Jeffrey Epstein. The subject of a 60 Minutes investigation in 1988, Brunel faced allegations of sexual assault spanning three decades.

Towers Financial Corporation was a debt collection agency based in Manhattan in New York City. Between 1988 and 1993, Towers Financial ran a Ponzi scheme that was the largest financial fraud in American history prior to Bernie Madoff's being uncovered.

<i>Surviving Jeffrey Epstein</i> USA documentary television miniseries

Surviving Jeffrey Epstein is an American documentary television miniseries about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, directed by Anne Sundberg and Ricki Stern. It consists of 4-episodes and premiered on August 9, 2020, on Lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal</span> Television interview

"Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal" is an episode of the BBC's news and current affairs programme Newsnight broadcast on BBC Two on 16 November 2019. In the 58-minute programme, Prince Andrew, Duke of York was interviewed by Emily Maitlis about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the American financier and convicted sex offender. Andrew's responses in the interview received negative reactions from both the media and the public. In May 2020, it was announced that he would indefinitely withdraw from his public roles.

<i>Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?</i> 2022 American-British documentary television miniseries

Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell? is a 2022 American-British documentary television miniseries revolving around British sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, directed by Erica Gornall. It consists of 3 episodes and premiered in the United States on June 26, 2022, on Starz, and in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2022, on Channel 4.

References

  1. 1 2 Cain, Áine (July 18, 2019). "Ghislaine Maxwell abruptly torpedoed her oceanic non-profit in the wake of the scandal surrounding her associate Jeffrey Epstein". Business Insider. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Platt, John. "TerraMar Project launches to celebrate and protect the world's oceans". Mother Nature Network. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "TERRAMAR (UK) - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  4. ↑ "Official Twitter announcement of closure" . Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  5. 1 2 Twohey, Megan; Bernstein, Jacob (2019-07-15). "The 'Lady of the House' Who Was Long Entangled With Jeffrey Epstein". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  6. 1 2 Schneier, Matthew (July 15, 2019). "The Socialite on Epstein's Arm". New York Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  7. ↑ Schreckinger, Ben; Lippman, Daniel (21 July 2019). "Meet the woman who ties Jeffrey Epstein to Trump and the Clintons". Politico . Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Bernstein, Jacob (August 14, 2019). "Whatever Happened to Ghislaine Maxwell's Plan to Save the Oceans?". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Schneier, Mathew (August 19, 2019). "Ghislaine Maxwell's Great Escape Didn't Get Her Far". New York Magazine. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Sustainable Oceans Alliance: Impacting the SGDs | Clinton Foundation". Clinton Foundation . Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  11. ↑ "TerraMar Project Inc., Nonprofit Explorer, Research Tax-Exempt Organizations". ProPublica. 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  12. ↑ Valente, Jenna (December 13, 2018). "Sea Change: Brian Yurasits of the TerraMar Project". Coastal News Today. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Under The Spotlight: Brian Yurasits". Conservation Guide. January 11, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  14. 1 2 "990-EZ: Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax". Terramar Project Inc. Internal Revenue Service. December 31, 2018.
  15. ↑ Kennedy, Dominic (August 14, 2019). "Ghislaine Maxwell's marine charity faces scrutiny after closure". The Times. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  16. ↑ "TERRAMAR (UK) Filing History". Companies House. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  17. ↑ Hallemann, Caroline (2020-07-10). "Ghislaine Maxwell's Bail Hearing Will Take Place Next Week". Town & Country. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  18. ↑ Isabel Vincent (July 28, 2019). "Feds probe socialite's mysterious ocean 'charity' over links to Jeffrey Epstein" . Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  19. ↑ "About - TerraMar Project". 2019-04-25. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.