French foreign minister pledges a full internal investigation into a diplomat’s alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, with disciplinary action already underway.

ISTANBUL: France’s foreign minister has vowed to pursue an internal investigation into alleged links between a French diplomat and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “all the way”.

Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed the inquiry launched within the Foreign Ministry is ongoing and intended to support judicial authorities, adding that disciplinary proceedings have already been initiated against the diplomat.

He stressed the ministry would “obviously ensure that responsibilities can be established” while noting in a joint interview that it was still “a little early” to determine how that might be done.

Barrot said he referred the case to prosecutors under Article 40 of France’s Code of Criminal Procedure after learning on Feb 10 of revelations implicating the diplomat, stating he was “appalled” and “outraged” by the allegations.

The initial exchanges cited in documents date back to 2010 when French diplomat Fabrice Aidan was working at the UN on secondment from France.

Aidan was also associated with Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen, who along with his wife Mona Juul is under investigation in Norway over alleged corruption linked to Epstein.

Barrot said he could not confirm what information Aidan may have shared with Epstein while also revealing the diplomat had previously been the subject of a US investigation for viewing child pornography.

The French Foreign Ministry had not questioned Aidan about the prior US child pornography investigation at the time.

The US Justice Department released more than 3 million pages of documents, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images under the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Jan 30.

Those materials include grand jury transcripts and investigative records, though many pages remain heavily redacted according to survivors and victims’ relatives who say the disclosure omits vital information.

Authorities found Epstein dead by suicide in a New York City jail in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.

 The Sun Malaysia