The Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network (CIReN) has documented how a scientific project stretching from Cyprus to London evolved into a case raising serious ethical concerns, following revelations linking parts of its funding to Jeffrey Epstein.
A Cypriot researcher reportedly took part – without, as he says, knowing the full context – in a controversial international research effort examining brain activity and consciousness, which was later connected to funding associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
CIReN describes how the Epstein research project, spanning institutions from Cyprus to London, unfolded through testimonies, documents and accounts from those involved, ultimately raising questions about oversight and ethical boundaries in scientific funding.
Scientific collaboration and early research work
During weekends in a laboratory in Cyprus, long after experimental work had ended, Dr Andreas Ioannidis analysed human brain data which, he said, revealed “something extraordinary”.
“I was only sent the data and spent six months working on it, analysing it over weekends,” he told CIReN in an interview.
At the time in 2016, he says he was unaware of the controversy that would later surround the project. “If you had mentioned the name Jeffrey Epstein then, I would have said: ‘Who is that?’”
Jeffrey Epstein was convicted in 2008 for procuring prostitution, including involving a minor, and was arrested again in July 2019 on charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking. He died in prison the following month.
What has since emerged, through US government-released documents and interviews with participants, is an international effort stretching from Cyprus to London involving academics working on an ambitious scientific programme exploring telepathy, under the patronage of Epstein.
Emails and academic involvement
Email exchanges between Epstein and academic philosopher and scientist Gino Yu, then working at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, suggest the collaboration began in September 2016.
Yu introduced Epstein to British neuroscientist and neuropsychiatrist adviser Peter Fenwick, now deceased, describing him as his “mentor”.
Within weeks, a meeting was organised online between Epstein and Fenwick. By December, discussions had shifted from introductions to research ambitions.
Fenwick outlined a research vision focused on “hyperscanning”, a technique used to measure the brain activity of two people simultaneously, aiming to understand “how we control or influence each other”.
Fenwick, who held senior academic roles at King’s College London and the University of Southampton, was regarded as a leading expert on near-death experiences, focusing on consciousness and its relationship with the brain. He died in 2024.
By January 2017, efforts were underway to formalise the project with institutional backing.
Institutional proposals and funding links
Draft agreements indicated involvement between the UK-based Goldsmiths, University of London and Epstein through his Enhanced Education foundation, based in the US Virgin Islands, officially registered as the J. Epstein VI Foundation.
The proposals outlined funding for a study examining brain activity in French spiritual teacher Alain Forget and his students, who reported experiencing light-related phenomena during meditation.
The proposed funding included £85,000 for Goldsmiths, with £20,000 allocated to Cypriot scientist Ioannidis.
The project listed cognitive neuroscientist Dr Joydeep Bhattacharya as principal investigator, Fenwick as collaborator, and Ioannidis as co-researcher.
Bhattacharya told CIReN via email that he was invited to participate in EEG experiments aimed at studying neurological and physiological correlates of reported light experiences during meditation. He said the initial idea stemmed from a pilot study involving two meditation practitioners and had “no connection whatsoever to Epstein”.
He also stated that Epstein had no role in experimental design or scientific aspects of the proposed study.
Epstein’s involvement and correspondence
However, messages between Fenwick and Epstein suggest the latter’s role may not have been entirely passive.
In one exchange, Epstein proposed alternative research directions, suggesting the study of actors’ brain changes when adopting different roles.
In other messages, he criticised the methodology, writing: “Sorry, but this is not rigorous… the lack of controls and sloppy statistics were very disturbing.”
Ioannidis later said the tone of Epstein’s comments stood out, describing him as “an intelligent man”, while also suggesting Epstein may have had broader motivations linked to reputational rehabilitation.
Funding rejection and project collapse
By March 2017, Goldsmiths rejected the donation after its ethics committee reviewed the proposal.
Goldsmiths later confirmed it had declined funding linked to Epstein’s associated entity, Enhanced Education.
Fenwick expressed frustration in emails following the decision, while attempts were made to reroute funding through alternative institutions or direct payments.
Bhattacharya declined to continue the research independently.
By 2018, the project had effectively collapsed, with Epstein expressing dissatisfaction over financial accountability and lack of documentation.
Final outcome and scientific claims
For Ioannidis, the research remained incomplete but scientifically intriguing.
He described observing “very, very strong” gamma wave activity differences during controlled experiments involving meditation sessions.
However, he rejected the idea of telepathy in a mystical sense, instead describing observed phenomena as measurable brain activity.
He said, “There is something there. Something worth studying further.”
Without further funding, the research stopped prematurely, leaving the Cyprus-to-London project unfinished and surrounded by unresolved ethical questions.
Information from Politis
Also read: Epstein purported suicide note released by US judge
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