French authorities are conducting searches as part of an investigation into the former French culture minister Jack Lang regarding alleged financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein, according to the national financial prosecutor’s office.
The investigation, launched on 6 February in France, focuses on suspected "aggravated tax fraud laundering" involving Lang, a former socialist minister, and his daughter, Caroline Lang.
Jack Lang, 86, resigned under pressure from his role as president of the Arab World Institute (IMA) in Paris, an institution central to France’s relations with the Arab world. He has not yet been charged with any wrongdoing.
Documents released by US authorities reportedly mention Lang’s name 673 times in connection with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and highlight links of interest between the two.
Searches at the IMA took place as Lang delivered his farewell speech to staff at the institute during a ceremony.
"I welcome the launch of financial justice proceedings," Lang stated during his speech, not explicitly referencing the searches, according to an AFP journalist present.
The investigation is being led by France’s National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), prosecutor Pascal Prache confirmed.
According to Mediapart, a French investigative news website, Caroline Lang co-founded an offshore company with Epstein in 2016, registered in the US Virgin Islands.
Following these revelations, Caroline Lang promptly resigned from her position as general delegate of the Independent Production Syndicate (SPI).
Jack Lang, a prominent figure of France’s Socialist Party and former Minister of Culture, is well known for creating the Fête de la Musique in the 1980s, a concept adopted by several countries, including in French-speaking Belgium.
He has described the accusations against him as "baseless".
