Epstein’s global reach: The countries that have launched investigations into paedophile’s connections so far

The release of millions of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein has sent shockwaves through Europe, exposing the late sex offender’s ties to senior figures in business, government and royalty.

The latest file dump in the US shows many top public officials continued to work and communicate with Epstein even after his 2008 conviction on prostitution charges involving an underage girl.

While being named in the files is not evidence of criminal activity, the files have raised questions of judgement about multiple high profile figures.

As anger over the scandal continues, a number of countries have seen investigations launched while others that haven’t face growing calls to do so.

Below we look at the global impact the disgraced financier continues to have, years after his death.

Peter Mandelson, a veteran Labour politician and former ambassador to the United States, was put under police investigation for alleged misconduct in office after the 30 January file dump unveiled years of correspondence with Epstein after his arrest.

The files also put a spotlight on his alleged willingness to leak government business.

Keir Starmer sacked Mandelson last September over his links to Epstein. His chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney later quit saying he took responsibility for advising Sir Keir to name Mandelson as ambassador despite his known links to Epstein. Mandelson has denied any wrong and says he regrets the relationship with Epstein.

Thames Valley Police said it was separately assessing whether there are ground to investigate a complaint by Republic, which reported the former prince Andrew for suspected misconduct in public office and breach of official secrets. Andrew has also denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein.

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French financial crime prosecutors have opened a probe into former culture minister Jack Lang and his daughter Caroline on suspicion of “aggravated tax fraud laundering”, linked to Epstein.

Lang was a major figure in French socialist governments between the 1980s and 2000s. The files showed they spoke intermittently between 2012 and 2019, and had financial links, including offshore.

The 86-year-old has denied wrongdoing and said the allegations were “baseless”. Hours after the investigation was announced, he offered to resign as head of the Arab World Institute in Paris, a role promoting ties between France and Arab nations.

French police on 16 February searched the Institute, which said it could not comment immediately.

Lang's daughter Caroline resigned as head of France's Independent Production Union after her own links to Epstein surfaced. She told Mediapart that she got to know Epstein around 2012, before he offered to help her with a fund to help support young foreign artists.

She said she was “naive” and “didn’t grasp the implications and consequences” of Epstein’s involvement. She is not accused of wrongdoing.

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France separately identified a pro-Russian disinformation campaign falsely connecting president Emmanuel Macron to Epstein, a government source said. The content included screenshots of fake emails aimed at implicating Macron.

French Response, an X account run by France’s foreign ministry, described a bogus article published on a fake news website as false and denied its contents.

France’s foreign minister also notified prosecutors about a French diplomat with ties to Epstein suspected of passing UN documents to the late sex offender.

Fabrice Aidan’s name appears in more than 200 documents released by the US justice department, including emails he sent Epstein between 2010 and 2016 from his personal and UN accounts. Foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said his ministry had started its own investigation and disciplinary proceedings against Aidan.

Aidan "rejects all of the accusations," his lawyer Jade Dousselin said in a statement.

Norway looks set to investigate its own foreign ministry after the new documents revealed links to Epstein.

The new tranche of files showed Epstein talking with former foreign minister Thorbjorn Jagland over several years. Jagland said he would prove his innocence as police announced they were investigating him on suspicion of aggravated corruption.

Børge Brende, another ex-foreign minister, was revealed to have attended dinners with Epstein in 2018 and 2019, and talked over email. He was put under investigation and said he was unaware of Epstein’s past.

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Mona Juul, a prominent ambassador, was suspended last week pending an internal investigation, and then stepped down on Sunday as the situation made it impossible to continue her work, her lawyer said.

The foreign ministry said it had also initiated a review of its former grants to the International Peace Institute (IPI), a New York think tank headed by Juul's husband Terje Roed-Larsen until 2020.

All have denied any involvement with Epstein's crimes.

The IPI said at the time of the resignation: “Epstein’s crimes were hideous. The notion that IPI would be in any way engaged with such an odious character is repugnant to the institution's core values.”

Roed-Larsen and Juul have said through their lawyers they believe there is no basis for the cases against them.

Norwegian media reported that most political parties now appear ready to support an independent inquiry into the foreign ministry.

German politicians have demanded the government launch an urgent investigation into possible cases of exploitation in Germany, amid a push for greater transparency.

Konstantin von Notz, deputy leader the Green Party, said the government must provide information on how much German intelligence knew about Epstein’s actions.

He said he wants to know whether the authorities were aware of what he called the "exploitative, criminal, or pedo-criminal networks," as well as Epstein’s foreign ties.

Sebastian Fiedler, spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party, acknowledged Epstein’s criminal links could have extended to Germany.

"Given the numerous interconnections within European power circles, it cannot be ruled out that interconnections could also arise in Germany," he told Handelsblatt.

Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius told reporters: “We are watching what is coming to light in other countries and how it is affecting politics there.”

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Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on 4 February that the country would investigate possible links between Epstein and Russian intelligence services.

He said that the government would also set up a new analytical team to study whether Polish children were abused by criminal networks involving Epstein.

“We cannot allow any of the cases involving the abuse of the Polish children by a network of pedophiles and the organizer of this satanic circle, Mr. Epstein, to be treated lightly or ignored,” he wrote on social media.

“The first pieces of information have appeared relating to the individuals who informed Mr. Epstein from Krakow that they already had a group of Polish women or girls.”

Lithuanian prosecutors announced they would also investigate potential human trafficking, after files emerged including references to prominent Lithuanians.

“An objective and thorough investigation of the circumstances of doubtful legality as well as international legal cooperation is only possible if a pre-trial investigation is launched,” Lithuania's prosecutor general's office said, without naming suspects or specific crimes.

Lithuanian police and prosecutors are currently assessing publicly released information, analysing the legal framework and exchanging information with partners, the prosecutor general's office said.

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Latvia announced on 6 February it had launched its own criminal investigation into potential human trafficking, following the release of files that included references to Latvian model agencies and models.

The investigation will focus on "the possible recruitment of Latvian nationals for sexual exploitation in the United States", police said in a statement, asking potential victims to come forward.

President Edgars Rinkevics called for the investigation after the public broadcaster reported the Epstein documents included passport data and travel details for several Latvian women.

Concern for the victims has prompted politicians further afield to push for investigations into Epstein’s ties to their countries.

Zeynel Emre, a Turkish MP with the Republican People's Party, announced in the wake of the release that he had asked the country’s justice minister why allegations mentioning Turkey had not been thoroughly investigated, in his view.

He said he had also pressed the minister on why no judicial process had been launched for possible victims.

Emre noted that a request for a full investigation, submitted in early 2024, was denied on the basis that there was no concrete evidence that crimes were committed in Turkey. He said it was now the obligation of the state to carry out a comprehensive probe prioritising the interests of the child victims.

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Ireland’s Gardaí is weighing whether to investigate claims made in the files about alleged sex trafficking in Ireland, according to local media.

Cork Beo reported that the Gardaí were assessing whether they had received any formal complaint or referral to investigate claims a young girl was taken to Ireland for sex when she was 13. The Independent contacted the Gardaí for comment.

Labour TD Duncan Smith told the outlet he wanted to see a full investigation into the claims.

“I would like to see this investigated,” he said. “This isn't something that is being done flippantly or without basis.

“There is a witness statement that was given to the FBI and is on the US Department of Justice website which states that there was a young girl trafficked out of the United States into Europe and through Ireland for the purposes of sex.”