Rothschild bank raid in Epstein-linked probe into envoy
French investigators raided the Paris offices of Swiss bank Edmond de Rothschild as part of a corruption investigation into a diplomat named in documents linked to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the financial prosecutor’s office said.
The name of mid-ranking French diplomat Fabrice Aidan, who was assigned to the United Nations between 2006 and 2013 and later worked at the bank, was included in more than 200 documents released by the US Department of Justice.
These include emails he allegedly sent to Epstein from his personal and UN accounts between 2010 and 2016.
Some of the emails reviewed by Reuters show that UN Security Council briefings and other classified documents were passed to Epstein at the time.
Aidan denied any wrongdoing.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs also initiated an administrative and disciplinary investigation against Aidan. The department and Aidan’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A source close to the bank said the search was carried out on Friday in the presence of the Swiss bank’s boss, Ariane de Rothschild.
The same source stated that Edmond de Rothschild fully cooperated with the justice system in the investigation carried out by the financial prosecutor, adding that an internal investigation was launched as soon as suspicions arose about the former employee, who worked at the bank from 2014 to 2016.
A bank spokesman declined to comment.
The investigation is being led by officers from France’s head office against corruption, financial and tax crime, who questioned Aidan in a voluntary interview in late February.
The French financial prosecutor’s office said it was investigating charges of passive corruption of a foreign public official and complicity in that crime, specifically targeting Aidan.
Ariane de Rothschild was also among the files disclosed by the US Department of Justice in January, which showed that she maintained personal correspondence with Epstein for years before his arrest in 2019.
After the files were released, a spokesman for the bank said that Epstein was a business acquaintance of de Rothschild from 2013 to 2019. The spokesman said De Rothschild had no knowledge of Epstein’s behavior.
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