The boss of the P&O Ferries owner, DP World, has left the company after revelations over his ties with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein forced the ports and logistics company to take action.

Dubai-based DP World, which is ultimately owned by the emirate’s royal family, announced the immediate resignation of Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem as the group’s chair and chief executive on Friday.

Sulayem – the brother of Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the head of the FIA, which governs the world’s motor sport championships including Formula One – has been under intense pressure after the publication of messages with Epstein.

Documents disclosed by the US Department of Justice revealed that Sulayem emailed Epstein in 2015 that he met a girl “two years ago” who went to an American university in Dubai was “the best sex I ever had amazing body”.

He said: “She got engaged but now she back with me.”

Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman from Kentucky, who has inspected unredacted Epstein files, said on Tuesday that the justice department also appeared to confirm that Sulayem was the recipient of an email from Epstein in which he said: “I loved the torture video.”

The Dubai government’s statement on Friday did not mention Sulayem but announced that Essa Kazim had been named as the chair and Yuvraj Narayan as the chief executive.

This week, two of DP World’s largest international partners, including Canada’s La Caisse pension fund and British International Investment (BII), said they would halt future deals with the group.

Read More: Boss of P&O Ferries owner DP World leaves over Jeffrey Epstein links