Epstein Affair: French Prosecutors Announce Special Team of Magistrates to Investigate Suspected Crimes

Published: February 14, 2026

Introduction: A Major Escalation within the French-Linked Epstein Investigation

In an important promotion that underscores the multinational and enduring achieve of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, French judicial government have taken a decisive step. The Paris prosecutor’s place of work (Parquet de Paris) introduced the formation of a devoted, specialised workforce of investigating magistrates. This workforce’s sole mandate is to meticulously analyze all current information and intelligence associated with the convicted intercourse wrongdoer Jeffrey Epstein, with a particular center of attention on figuring out and pursuing any legal acts that can have concerned French voters or befell on French territory. This transfer represents greater than a procedural replace; it alerts a proper, resource-intensive dedication by way of France’s justice device to confront the complicated, transatlantic internet of allegations that has persevered since Epstein’s loss of life in a U.S. prison in 2019.

The announcement at once responds to the continuing fallout from the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) unencumber of in the past sealed court docket paperwork, often known as the “Epstein information.” These paperwork, whilst no longer constituting proof of guilt themselves, include a lot of references to folks of French nationality, thereby growing a transparent felony crucial for French prosecutors to inspect whether or not their very own regulations—specifically the ones protective minors from sexual exploitation and rape—had been violated. The advent of this particular workforce is a strategic measure to verify a coordinated, skilled, and proactive investigation, shifting past initial opinions to a full-scale judicial inquiry the place warranted.

Key Points: The Core Announcements and Immediate Focus

Specialized Judicial Team: A devoted staff of investigating magistrates (magistrats instructeurs) has been assembled by way of the Paris prosecutor’s place of work.
Primary Objective: To behavior a complete evaluation of all case information, proof, and data bearing on Jeffrey Epstein and his friends, in particular focused on doable crimes with a French connection.
Inter-Agency Collaboration: The workforce will paintings in shut live performance with France’s Agence nationale de lutte contre los angeles fraude (National Agency for the Fight in opposition to Fraud), the unit liable for complicated monetary crimes, and specialised police devices. This highlights the possibility of investigating related monetary flows, corresponding to cash laundering or corruption.
Reopening the Brunel Case: A central and quick precedence is the reactivation of the investigation into Jean-Luc Brunel, the past due French modeling company government and identified Epstein affiliate who died by way of suicide in a Paris jail in 2022 whilst charged with raping minors.
Legal Threshold: Being named within the U.S. Epstein paperwork does no longer robotically equate to legal culpability underneath French legislation. The judicial workforce’s function is to decide if enough, admissible proof exists to open formal investigations (mises en examen) or prosecutions in France.
Scope: The investigation will read about any suspected crimes involving French nationals, whether or not as alleged sufferers or alleged perpetrators, and any acts that can have taken position on French soil.