French prosecutors announce special team for Epstein files
As Epstein’s known circle has now expanded to prominent French figures following the release of documents by US authorities, the prosecution said it would also comprehensively re-examine the case of former French modeling agency executive Jean-Luc Brunel, a close associate of the American financier who died in custody in 2022.
The new team will work closely with prosecutors from the national financial crimes unit and police to launch investigations into suspected crimes involving French citizens, the Paris prosecutor’s office told AFP.
It was stated that the aim was to “recover any items that could be usefully reused within the framework of a new investigation”.
Brunel was found dead in his cell in a Paris prison in 2022 after being accused of raping minors. The case against him was dropped after his death in 2023, with no one else charged.
Prosecutors said an investigation showed Brunel was a “close friend of Jeffrey Epstein” who offered modeling jobs to young girls from poor backgrounds.
They said Brunel had sexual intercourse with underage girls in the United States, the US Virgin Islands, Paris and the south of France. According to the prosecution, ten women made accusations against Brunel; Many of them described how they were manipulated into drinking alcohol and forced into sexual intercourse.
new cases
The US Department of Justice’s latest release of materials from the Epstein files includes several prominent French figures; However, just being mentioned there does not mean that any crime has been committed.
The prosecutor’s office said it was asked to examine three new specific cases involving a French diplomat, a modeling agent and a musician.
At the request of the French foreign ministry, a report that top diplomat Fabrice Aidan appeared in a cache of Epstein-related documents released by US authorities was being examined.
“The investigation is ongoing to collect various evidence that can confirm this report,” the prosecutor’s office said. he said.
The prosecutor’s office also received a complaint filed by a Swedish woman against model recruiter Daniel Siad, who had close ties to Epstein. The statement said he accused her of “sexual acts that he described as rape and may have been committed in France in 1990.”
It was also stated that a complaint was filed with the office against French conductor Frederic Chaslin regarding alleged acts of sexual harassment committed in 2016.
The latest release of the Epstein files led to former French minister Jack Lang resigning as head of the Arab World Institute (IMA), a top cultural institution.
But Lang denied any wrongdoing, saying he was “shocked” to be named in the bylaws of the offshore company that Epstein founded in 2016.
The national financial prosecutor’s office said it had opened a preliminary investigation against Lang and his daughter, Caroline Lang, for “aggravated tax evasion and money laundering.”
Following this statement, Lang resigned as IMA president.
In an interview published in La Tribune Dimanche newspaper on Sunday, Lang denounced what he described as a “tsunami of lies” against him, insisting once again that he was “white as snow”.
He told the newspaper he knew nothing about Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring children for prostitution.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of underage girls. US authorities ruled his death a suicide.
