The Epstein files reawaken one of Switzerland’s greatest mysteries
The mysterious death of Tengelmann’s former boss Karl-Erivan Haub, a phone call from New York to Valais and previously unknown documents in the Epstein files: new documents show that Swiss investigators have been looking into the possible links between the two cases since 2020.
In 2018, Tengelmann billionaire Karl-Erivan Haub disappeared without a trace during a ski tour in Zermatt. In 2020, a man named Mark Epstein, originally from New York, presented himself to the Valais cantonal police. And in 2025, Fedpol and investigators from Valais suddenly appear in Jeffrey Epstein’s files. These are three stories with explosive links.
First of all, that of the deceased billionaire: Karl-Erivan Haub, a dual German and American national, was until his death co-director of the Tengelmann Group, one of the largest family companies in Germany, whose headquarters are in Mülheim an der Ruhr. On 7 April 2018, the mountaineering enthusiast set off on a training hike to the Klein Matterhorn on his own. A surveillance camera shows Haub for the last time on his way to the glacier region. Then all trace of it is lost.
Despite one of the largest search operations ever conducted in the region - with helicopters, avalanche specialists and international rescue teams - Haub remains nowhere to be found. Neither his body, nor his equipment, nor any other clues were found.
His disappearance has sparked significant speculation. While the family officially believes that it was a mountain accident, some voices still do not rule out a voluntary disappearance. Thus, according to the media, there were many indications that Haub had business contacts in Russia since at least 2010. In addition, Haub was reportedly spotted in Moscow after his disappearance, but no independent confirmation has been provided.
Legally, Haub was declared dead in 2021. In 2023, investigative journalist Liv von Boetticher published the book “Die Akte Tengelmann und das mysteriöse Verschwinden des Milliardärs Karl-Erivan Haub”. She came to the following conclusion: “There is every reason to believe that the former head of the Tengelmann empire had been involved for years in extremely dubious dealings in Russia and that it was probably for this reason that he was on the radar of the US Federal Police FBI and the CIA.”
Three Swiss pages in Epstein’s files
The second part of the story begins with a news event: on December 23, 2025, new files from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein are published. Among the 300,000 or so pages, there are three that concern the Valais cantonal police, the Swiss federal police Fedpol, Mark Epstein - Jeffrey Epstein’s brother - and the disappearance of Karl-Erivan Haub.
It is apparent from these pages that on 15 June 2020, Fedpol sent an email to the US authorities on behalf of the Valais cantonal police. Questioned by blue News, Fedpol stresses that it has only played an intermediary role.
The event: Mark Epstein contacted the Sion Cantonal Police by phone from New York City on June 2, 2020 and sent two emails on the same day. In it, he offered information that he said indicated that the disappearance of German billionaire Karl-Erivan Haub and the death of his brother Jeffrey Epstein could be linked.
In the file, the Valais investigators indicate that Mark Epstein, during his own research into the death of his brother, would have come across a conversation between a person he did not know, under the pseudonym “Mim Mim”, and a “Mr. Haub”. It would be Christian Haub, the brother of the missing man.
Mark Epstein has made available to the cantonal police a screenshot of the LinkedIn profile of “Mim Mim” as well as screenshots of two messages from this person. In these messages, he is threatened with killing his children.
The reason for these threats is unclear.
On 4 June 2020, the cantonal police contacted Mark Epstein again by telephone. According to the filing, he said his brother Jeffrey Epstein and Karl-Erivan Haub may have been murdered.
He deduced this hypothesis from the content of an e-mail from “Mim Mim”. It is not known whether this e-mail was in the possession of the Valais authorities. It is also unknown how Mark Epstein obtained this information.
Three questions to the American authorities
The Valais cantonal police made three specific requests to the American authorities: the officials wanted to know whether Mark Epstein’s reports related to Karl-Erivan Haub were available there. In addition, they want to be informed of possible findings regarding a connection between Epstein and Haub, which could be relevant to the Swiss investigation. The third question is, “How would you rate the information provided by Mark Epstein?”
It is not yet known whether the Valais cantonal police or Fedpol have ever received a response from the United States. Fedpol refers this to the Valais cantonal police - a corresponding request from blue News has so far remained unanswered.
In addition to the unresolved question of whether and how the US authorities reacted, the three-page Epstein dossier leaves other questions unanswered: for example, whether Mark Epstein’s contact triggered new investigations into the disappearance of Karl-Erivan Haub. Or why Mark Epstein came across the name Haub while researching his brother’s death.
The enigma of the disappearance of the German billionaire in Zermatt therefore remains unsolved for the moment - but the Epstein files shed new light on the case.