French prosecutors launch a dedicated unit to investigate potential crimes by French nationals linked to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, examining new complaints and revisiting past cases.
PARIS: The Paris prosecutor’s office has established a special team of magistrates to analyse evidence that could implicate French nationals in crimes connected to convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
This unit will work closely with the national financial crimes prosecutor and police, aiming to open new investigations into any suspected offences involving French citizens.
The team’s objective is to extract any useful information for a fresh investigative framework. This move follows the release of documents by US authorities that extended Epstein’s known circle to prominent French figures.
Prosecutors will also thoroughly re-examine the case of Jean-Luc Brunel, a former French modelling agency executive and close associate of Epstein who died in custody in 2022. Brunel was found dead in his Paris prison cell after being charged with raping minors.
The case against him was dropped in 2023 following his death. An investigation showed Brunel was a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein who offered modelling jobs to young girls from poor backgrounds.
Authorities stated he engaged in sexual acts with underage girls in the United States, the US Virgin Islands, Paris and the south of France. Ten women had made accusations against Brunel, with several describing being led to drink alcohol and subjected to forced sexual penetration.
The prosecutor’s office said it had been asked to look into three new specific cases. It is investigating the reported appearance of senior French diplomat Fabrice Aidan in the cache of Epstein-related documents published by US authorities.
An investigation is underway to gather evidence that could substantiate this report, initiated at the request of the French foreign ministry. The office has also received a complaint filed by a Swedish woman against model recruiter Daniel Siad, who had close ties to Epstein.
She accused him of sexual acts she describes as rape that may have been committed in France in 1990. A separate complaint has been filed against French conductor Frederic Chaslin alleging acts of sexual harassment allegedly committed in 2016.
The latest release of Epstein files has led to former French minister Jack Lang resigning as head of the Arab World Institute. Lang has denied any wrongdoing, saying he was shocked that his name appeared in the statutes of an offshore company Epstein founded in 2016.
The national financial prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation for aggravated tax fraud and money laundering against Lang and his daughter Caroline Lang. Following this announcement, Lang resigned from his cultural post.
In a newspaper interview, Lang insisted he is white as snow, denouncing what he describes as a tsunami of lies against him. He told the paper he had known nothing of Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking underage girls. The US authorities ruled his death was a suicide.
