Thomas Pritzker is stepping down from Hyatt’s board of directors, saying he deeply regrets his association with Epstein

Hotel mogul Thomas Pritzker will retire as CEO of Hyatt Hotels after details of his association with Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in documents related to the burgeoning investigation into ties between the notorious sex trafficker and the elite and powerful.

In a prepared statement, Pritzker said he deeply regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein’s.

“I exercised poor judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for not moving away sooner,” Pritzker said in a statement. “I condemn the actions and harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and am deeply saddened by the pain they inflicted on their victims.”

There are numerous emails between Pritzker and Epstein included in a cache of Epstein-related documents recently released by the US Department of Justice, with many detailed attempts at dinner meetings and invitations to various functions.

Epstein died by suicide while in prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking.

Pritzker, a cousin of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, has served as Hyatt’s CEO for more than 20 years. His retirement becomes effective immediately. Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian will succeed Pritzker as chairman.

Read more: A list of powerful men mentioned in the Epstein files, from Elon Musk to former Prince Andrew

Pritzker, 75, will not run for re-election to the Hyatt board of directors at the annual shareholders meeting.

Founded in 1957, Hyatt has more than 1,500 hotels and all-inclusive resorts in more than 83 countries.

Revelations of ties to Epstein led to the departure or ouster of several prominent individuals.

Dubai announced last week that it would replace the head of one of the world’s largest logistics companies, DP World, due to his ties to Epstein.

Read more: 4 takeaways from the Epstein files about the FBI’s investigation into possible sex trafficking

Also last week, Kathy Rummler, a senior lawyer at the famous investment bank Goldman Sachs and a former White House adviser to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation after emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein showed a close relationship in which she described him as “big brother” and downplayed his sex crimes.

Brad Karp resigned as head of a prestigious US law firm earlier this month, saying news coverage of his exchanges with Epstein had “created a distraction”.

Karp has served as chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison since 2008. The New York-based firm has advanced the civil rights case, handled legal affairs for corporate power brokers and grown into a multibillion-dollar global enterprise.

Late last year, King Charles III stripped his brother, formerly Prince Andrew, of all his titles and honours, due to his relationship with Epstein. He said this month that he was willing to “support” British police examining allegations that his brother provided confidential information to Epstein.