French authorities searched the Arab World Institute in Paris on Monday as part of an inquiry into former culture minister Jack Lang and his alleged connections to the late convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, prosecutors said.
The raids, coordinated by France’s National Financial Prosecutor (PNF), targeted several locations linked to Lang and his daughter, Caroline Lang, who are under preliminary investigation for suspected tax fraud following the release of Epstein-related documents in the U.S.
Lang, who served as culture minister under the late Socialist president Francois Mitterrand and led the Arab World Institute since 2013, resigned earlier this month. He maintains he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal activities despite corresponding with him between 2012 and 2019, long after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. Epstein died by suicide in a U.S. prison in 2019.
Both Jack and Caroline Lang have denied wrongdoing or receiving any financial benefit from Epstein. Their lawyer, Laurent Merlet, told BFMTV that “there was no movement of funds.”
The investigation forms part of a broader European review of millions of documents related to Epstein. Paris prosecutors have established a dedicated team to analyse potential cases, including one involving French diplomat Fabrice Aidan, accused of transferring United Nations documents to Epstein—a claim he denies through his lawyer.
