New Delhi, June 10 -- Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said on Wednesday that he "never victimized anyone" while responding to questions from US lawmakers regarding his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

According to AP, he called his meeting with Epstein "a grave error in judgement", noting, "if the time I spent with Epstein lent him any credibility, I am deeply sorry".

In prepared testimony submitted to a closed-door hearing and later published on his personal website, Gates stated, "I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct. I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone."

Gates, one of the world's wealthies...