A global business tycoon who heads up one of Australia’s biggest port companies has resigned over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Dubai-owned DP World says its chairman and chief executive Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem had quit amid mounting pressure ‌over his alleged ties to the paedophile.

Bin Sulayem, one of the Middle East’s most prominent business figures, is among the highest-profile executives to face scrutiny and be removed from roles following the recent release of the Epstein files.

DP World operates several key ports and terminals across Australia including Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Fremantle.

Members of the US Congress said Bin Sulayem’s name appeared in documents published by the US Department of Justice, prompting renewed questions over his past interactions with Epstein, a convicted sex offender.

The Epstein files suggest a close relationship ‌with Bin Sulayem for more than a decade after Epstein’s conviction in 2008 on prostitution charges involving an underage girl.

The documents include emails and text messages that appear to show discussions between Epstein and Bin Sulayem about business, conversations about sex and plans to visit Epstein’s Caribbean island.

The documents show the late disgraced financier’s web of relationships with prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business. ​Being named in the files is not evidence of criminal activity.

Bin Sulayem has overseen DP World’s transformation into one of the world’s largest port and logistics operators. The ⁠company says it handles around 10 per cent of global containerised trade with operations spanning ‌countries including ​Canada, Peru, India and Angola.

But pressure has been building after the ‌UK development finance agency and Canada’s second-largest pension fund said they would suspend all new investment with DP ​World over Bin Sulayem’s alleged Epstein ties.

In other resignations, Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer, Kathy Ruemmler, announced she would be leaving her role after Epstein emails revealed she had a close relationship with the man she called “Uncle Jeffrey”.

“I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction,” she told the Financial Times.

Epstein was found dead in a New York jail ​cell where he was being held ⁠on sex-trafficking charges in August 2019. His death was ruled as suicide by hanging.

-with AAP