Epstein files: Police reviewing Czech connections amid international scandal
Czech police have started looking into Czech links in the Epstein files, in the case of the late American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Police Presidium confirmed this week. The report said officers are currently assessing the available information and will report on their findings in due time.
Among the millions of pages of documents released in the affair, there are reported to be several Czech links – the main one being the allegation that Epstein had drawn underage girls from the Czech Republic into his sex-abuse network.
The late Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent witnesses in the Epstein case, who reportedly died by suicide last year at the age of just 41, spoke in her testimony about young models and aspiring actresses, many of them underage girls from around the world being involved in the sex-abuse network. She specifically named girls from Turkey, the Czech Republic and Asia adding that many of them did not speak English, which made them particularly vulnerable.
Turkish prosecutors are already dealing with the matter, and Czech police have now started looking into the claims. Police Presidium spokesperson Ondřej Moravčík said officers are currently assessing the files and will decide on the course of action depending on what they uncover. For the present time, he said, they have no information suggesting that Epstein had minors brought to him from the Czech Republic.
According to some media outlets, however, the files on the Epstein case contain numerous links to this country. In recent days, news sites such as iDNES.cz, Novinky and Seznam Zprávy have carried quotes from correspondence between Epstein and Czech women.
“I would like to ask whether I could borrow some money from you – given that I’m taking my school-leaving exams – and pay you back at the end of July? Otherwise I’ll have to cancel all my trips,” Seznam Zprávy quoted from an email that one of the Czech girls addressed to Epstein.
Documents released also show that Epstein himself stayed in the Czech Republic on a number of occasions. Three photographs show him at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, and according to his bank statements, he stayed at the Marriott Hotel. Another email suggests that Epstein may have been considering buying property in the Czech Republic, with a then prominent Czech top model reportedly assisting him in the matter.
Epstein’s pilot, Larry Visoski, was also questioned about travel to the Czech Republic during an interrogation in 2009. “We flew to Prague,” he testified. Asked about the purpose of the trip and whether they picked anyone up on the return flight, the pilot replied briefly: “I don’t remember.”
Last week, opposition MP and former foreign minister Jan Lipavský (Civic Democrats) asked the government of Andrej Babiš to launch an official inquiry into the Czech links of the Epstein case and ensure the protection of potential victims in Czechia.
The case is rocking the political scene in many countries, most recently the UK and Norway and more states have launched an investigation into related local links. In Slovakia, Prime Minister Fico’s adviser Miroslav Lajčák resigned over the affair and official inquiries have also been launched in Poland and Latvia.
