Washington (US), 10 June (LaPresse) – Bill Gates denies having ‘ever victimised anyone’ and states that he never had any indication that Jeffrey Epstein was involved in criminal activities. In his opening statement before the House Oversight Committee investigating the case of the former paedophile financier, the Microsoft co-founder described Epstein as an untrustworthy and vindictive man, with whom he had interacted whilst attempting to raise funds for philanthropic initiatives, and expressed his full support for the committee’s investigation. "First of all, I want to make one fundamental point clear: I never witnessed any criminal behaviour on Epstein’s part, nor did I ever have any indication that he was involved in ongoing illegal activities. I have never visited his island, his ranch or his home in Florida. I have never victimised anyone. Although he tried to establish a personal relationship, I was never interested in doing so nor did I ever reciprocate that interest,” Gates stated in his opening statement.