French police raided the headquarters of the Arab World Institute (AWI) on Monday as part of their investigation into a former government official’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
According to the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, authorities searched the headquarters in Paris and several other locations. The investigators were looking for documents about former Culture Minister Jack Lang, who was head of the AWI until his resignation last month. AWI is part of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Both Jack and Caroline Lang have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or receiving financial benefits from Epstein. Their lawyer, Laurent Merlet, told French broadcaster BFMTV this month that “there was no money transfer.”
The fallout from the release of millions of new documents related to Epstein has spread across Europe. On Saturday, Paris prosecutors set up a special team to review the files, working with the financial prosecutor and the national police.
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French police officers patrol in front of the Arab World Institute in Paris on February 16, 2026. (Charlotte Siemon/AFP via Getty Images)
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in a letter on Saturday that “all” Epstein files have now been declassified, in accordance with Section 3 of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
“In accordance with the requirements of law, and as set forth in various department filings in the courts of the Southern District of New York assigned to the Prosecutions against Epstein and Maxwell and related orders, the department has released all “records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the department” that “relate to” any of nine different categories,” the letter said.
The letter includes a list of more than 300 high-profile names, including President Donald Trump, Barack and Michelle Obama, Prince Harry, Bill Gates, Woody Allen, Kurt Cobain, Mark Zuckerberg and Bruce Springsteen.
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In accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the list of names includes “all individuals where (1) they are or were a government official or politically exposed person and (2) their name appears at least once in the files released under the act,” the letter said, adding that the names appear in a “wide variety of contexts.”
Some of the names mentioned had “extensive direct email contact with Epstein or Maxwell,” while others were mentioned “in a portion of a document (including press releases) that is prima facie unrelated to the Epstein and Maxwell cases,” the letter said.
The Justice Department released a trove of Epstein documents on December 19, following President Trump’s signing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
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The document outlines the wide range of Epstein-related materials, including data on Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell; references to individuals – up to and including government officials – associated with Epstein’s activities; and documents related to civil settlements and legal resolutions, such as immunity agreements, plea agreements, non-prosecution agreements, and sealed settlements.
Reuters contributed to this report.
