Ari Ben-Menashe is an Iranian-born Israeli-Canadian former intelligence officer who, over five decades, has moved from covert arms deals to globe-spanning political consultancy. What follows collects the verifiable highlights of his life, career stakes, legal fights, and the statements that tie him—directly or indirectly—to Jeffrey Epstein's spy lore.
Early life & Israeli intelligence years
Born in Tehran in 1951, Ben-Menashe emigrated to Israel as a teenager, became fluent in Persian, Arabic and English, and joined the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) in 1977. Israeli and international press later confirmed his status as an intelligence officer, though precise rank and duties remain classified.1
1989 U.S. arrest, acquittal and "Profits of War"
While brokering three C-130 transport planes for Iran he was arrested in Los Angeles under the Arms Export Control Act, spent eleven months in jail, and was acquitted after jurors accepted that he had acted on Israel's behalf.2
During detention he began briefing reporters about Iran-Contra and the "October Surprise"; those claims later appeared in his memoir Profits of War (1992).3 A 1993 House Task-Force report, however, labelled his October-Surprise testimony "untruthful."4
Dickens & Madson and the lobbying decades
From the mid-1990s Ben-Menashe ran Montreal-based Dickens & Madson (Canada) Inc., registering foreign-agent contracts with the U.S. Justice Department. One representative filing, June 2019, shows a $6 million retainer from Sudan's military council.5 Over time he marketed geopolitical makeovers to a string of sanctioned or embattled clients:
Additional controversies
- A suspected petrol-bomb gutted his Westmount (Montreal) home in 2012; police treated it as arson.6
- He arranged CNN's tightly controlled visit to Myanmar in April 2021, drawing criticism from rights groups.7
Statements linking Ben-Menashe to Jeffrey Epstein
Ben-Menashe is not documented in Epstein's flight logs or address books; his relevance stems from interviews and a 2019 investigative book (Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales). In that book—and in Fox News coverage—he is quoted claiming Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell worked for Israeli intelligence on a classic "honey-trap" blackmail program.8
Separately, he told Consortium News that Epstein's handler was Israeli military intelligence rather than Mossad.9 Newsweek summarized the same assertions when Virginia Giuffre reposted the material in 2023.10 Electronic Intifada's 2025 review of press coverage again traced the claim to Ben-Menashe.11
Counter-narrative and credibility
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett dismissed every "Epstein-Mossad" theory as "slander," implicitly rejecting Ben-Menashe's story.12 U.S. congressional investigators earlier judged many of his historical intelligence stories unreliable.4 Yet governments in crisis still hire him—a paradox that underscores his enduring access and the opaque nature of private intelligence.
Conclusion
Ben-Menashe's public record toggles between substantiated facts (intelligence past, arms-trade trial, lobby contracts) and disputed or uncorroborated revelations.
His Epstein remarks derive from personal recollection, not documentary evidence; no independent source has verified them, and senior Israeli officials flatly deny them.
Despite credibility questions, U.S. and Canadian regulators consistently accept Ben-Menashe's FARA and lobbyist filings—suggesting authorities treat him as a genuine agent of influence rather than a mere fabulist.
Researchers heading deeper into his file should start with the original FARA exhibits, the 1992 House Task-Force report, and contemporary Reuters or Guardian dispatches listed above.