French investigation into the Epstein files. A former minister and his daughter are targeted

The National Financial Prosecutor of France announced on Saturday that it has opened an investigation concerning the former Minister of Culture Jack Lang and his daughter, Caroline Lang, on suspicion of “laundering money from tax fraud in an aggravated form”, an approach related to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, convicted of sex crimes.

Pressure on Lang to resign as president of the Paris-based Arab World Institute is mounting after documents released last week by the US Department of Justice show that Epstein and Lang spoke sporadically between 2012 and the financier's 2019 death by suicide in custody, Reuters notes.

French media, including Le Monde, Le Figaro and Mediapart, reported that the preliminary investigation was opened after US Justice Department documents revealed years of correspondence and financial ties between Lang and Epstein, including through offshore structures.

The prosecutor's office confirmed the existence of the investigation, but without providing additional details.

Jack Lang, who denies any wrongdoing, was summoned by the Foreign Office, the tutelary authority of the Arab World Institute, a cultural and research institution that promotes knowledge of the Arab world.

“Jack Lang was a minister of state, he will make his decision in full conscience,” his lawyer, Laurent Merlet, told BFM TV, reacting to calls for Lang to leave the institution's leadership.

Lang's name appears more than 600 times in the Epstein files, according to a Reuters review of the documents. On Monday, his daughter Caroline Lang resigned as president of the Union of Independent Production in France after her own ties to Epstein came to light.

“Jack Lang considers the presentation of the facts to be very unfair, but he is a fighter and will provide both his guardianship authority and the courts with all necessary explanations to demonstrate that he is not involved in any illegal practice or crime that could be charged against him,” said his lawyer.

“There was no movement of funds… But I think it's normal for the judiciary to want to check this,” the lawyer added, adding that he hoped the prosecutor would act quickly.

The massive release of the documents has intensified scrutiny of Epstein's global connections to public figures, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of Britain's King Charles, and Peter Mandelson, the UK's former ambassador to the United States.