Searches targeted premises tied to former culture minister Jack Lang as investigators examine alleged financial links to Jeffrey Epstein and reopened scrutiny of associates including Jean-Luc Brunel
French police on Monday carried out coordinated raids at multiple locations, including the Arab World Institute in Paris, as part of an investigation into its former head Jack Lang over alleged financial ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a France 24 report, citing the national financial prosecutor’s office.
Pascal Prache, head of the national financial prosecutor’s office, said in a statement that the searches were conducted within the framework of a preliminary probe into suspected tax fraud involving Lang and his daughter.
The investigation was opened after the release of documents by the US Department of Justice.
Lang, a former culture minister under socialist president François Mitterrand, stepped down earlier this month from the Arab World Institute, which he had led since 2013.
The Paris-based cultural and research body operates under the supervision of France’s foreign ministry and promotes understanding of the Arab world.
Lang, who corresponded with Epstein between 2012 and 2019, has denied the accusations against him.
The raids follow an announcement by the Paris prosecutor’s office on Saturday that it was establishing a special team of magistrates to analyse evidence that could implicate French nationals in crimes linked to Epstein.
Authorities said the team would work closely with the national financial crimes unit and police to determine whether new investigations should be opened.
The aim is “to be able to extract any piece that could be usefully reused in a new investigative framework”, the prosecutor’s office said.
As part of the broader review, prosecutors will also re-examine the case of former modelling agency executive Jean-Luc Brunel, a close associate of Epstein who was found dead in his Paris prison cell in 2022 after being charged with raping minors.
Proceedings against Brunel were dropped in 2023 following his death, with no other suspects charged.
Prosecutors previously said Brunel was “a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein” who had offered modelling jobs to young girls from poor backgrounds.
They alleged he engaged in sexual acts with underage girls in the United States, the US Virgin Islands, Paris and the south of France. Ten women accused Brunel of abuse, several describing how they were plied with alcohol and subjected to forced sexual penetration, according to the prosecutor’s office.
In a related development, the Paris prosecutor’s office said it had been asked to examine three new specific cases involving a French diplomat, a modelling agent and a musician whose names appeared in recently released US justice department documents.
It is also reviewing the reported appearance of senior diplomat Fabrice Aidan in the Epstein-related files at the request of the foreign ministry.
With inputs from agencies
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