French police descended on the Institute of the Arab World in Paris to pick up documents regarding possible links to Jeffrey Epstein
French police officers in front of the Arab World Institute in Paris, photographed on February 16, 2026, PHOTO: Charlotte Siemon / AFP / Profimedia Images
French police raided the Arab World Institute in Paris on Monday as part of an investigation into Jack Lang, the institution's former director and a former culture minister, and his ties to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, prosecutors said, cited by Reuters.
France's National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) said in a statement that the Institute of the Arab World was among several locations targeted by the raids.
Prosecutors in Paris this month opened a preliminary investigation targeting Lang and his daughter Caroline on suspicion of tax fraud. The announcement followed the release of a new batch of documents related to the Epstein case in the United States.
Lang, who served as culture minister under former Socialist president François Mitterrand, resigned this month as head of the Arab World Institute, which he had led since 2013.
He said he had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes, although he corresponded with him between 2012 and 2019, 11 years after the financier was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution. Epstein died in US custody in 2019.
The institute, under the auspices of the French Foreign Ministry, said it could not immediately comment on the police action.
The former head of the Arab World Institute has strongly denied receiving money from Epstein
Both Jack and Caroline Lang have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and that they received financial benefits from Epstein. Their lawyer, Laurent Merlet, told French broadcaster BFMTV this month that “there was no transfer of funds” from Epstein or his associates to his clients.
Reuters recalls that the repercussions of the publication of millions of new documents related to the Epstein case were felt throughout Europe. On Saturday, prosecutors in Paris set up a dedicated team to analyze the files, in coordination with the Financial Prosecutor's Office and the national police.
The bureau said it is looking into several possible cases stemming from the Epstein documents.
One of these concerns French diplomat Fabrice Aidan, who is alleged to have passed United Nations documents to Epstein.
Aidan, who worked at the UN from July 2006 to April 2013, denied the allegations through his lawyer.
