Paris, France – The French financial prosecutor’s office announced Friday that it has opened a preliminary investigation into Jack Lang, president of the Arab World Institute in Paris and a former French minister, and his daughter Caroline, over their financial ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to Agence France-Presse. The office indicated that the investigation includes charges of money laundering related to tax evasion proceeds. These charges stem from suspicious financial dealings with Epstein. Lang is the most prominent French figure implicated since the US Department of Justice released millions of documents related to Epstein. Epstein committed suicide in his jail cell in 2019 while on trial for sex trafficking.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, during a visit to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, said: “He (Lang) has been summoned by the ministry and will be received on Sunday.” He later added from Beirut: “The initial elements emerging from these files are new and extremely serious.” Therefore, these elements require thorough examination. French media reports indicate that Lang repeatedly contacted Epstein to obtain money or services. Meanwhile, his daughter Caroline’s name appears in the files of an offshore company partly owned by the convicted American businessman.
In light of the investigations, Caroline Lang resigned on Monday from her position as president of the Guild of Independent Film and Television Producers. Meanwhile, Jack Lang denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, despite the latter’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Despite repeated calls for his resignation, Lang refused on Wednesday to step down from his post as president of the Arab World Institute in Paris.
