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French police conduct searches over ex-minister Jack Lang's links to Epstein

Hugh SchofieldParis
News imageAFP via Getty Images Jack Lang talks to employees of the Arab World Institute in Paris during a farewell ceremony following his resignation earlier this month. Photo: 16 February 2026AFP via Getty Images
Jack Lang told IMA employees that his name would be cleared

French police have been conducting searches at Paris' prestigious Arab World Institute (IMA) as part of an investigation into links between its former president Jack Lang and the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Lang, an 86-year-old former Socialist minister, resigned from his IMA post just over a week ago after his name was found nearly 700 times in the latest release of Epstein's personal files in the US.

Lang is being investigated in France for suspected "laundering of the proceeds of tax evasion". He denies any wrongdoing, describing the allegations as "baseless".

On Monday, he told IMA staff the investigation would clear his name. "I am totally serene because I have nothing to hide."

Inaugurated in 1987, the IMA is an important cultural centre dedicated to the Arab world, situated on the river Seine and mainly financed by the French foreign ministry.

On 6 February, the financial division of the prosecutor's office opened a preliminary enquiry into Lang and his 64 year-old daughter Caroline Lang.

A preliminary enquiry is conducted on the basis of unverified information and does not necessarily lead to criminal charges.

According to media reports, investigators want to know about an offshore company set up jointly by Epstein and his daughter in the US Virgin Islands, ostensibly with the aim of purchasing art works.

The company was not declared to the French tax authorities, but Caroline Lang says she received no money from it.

Caroline Lang - who once worked for UK media tycoon Robert Maxwell, father of Epstein's imprisoned associate Ghislaine Maxell - is reported in French media to be a named beneficiary of Epstein's will.

She told the French public broadcaster France 2 this week that she had never heard of the will and had never seen any such document or received any funds.

The BBC contacted representatives of both Jack and Caroline Lang.

Epstein is also alleged to have paid $50,000 (£36,670) for a film to be made about Jack Lang's political career.

Lang was a loyal follower of the late Socialist President François Mitterrand, and became famous as culture minister for creating France's annual Fête de la Musique (Festival of Music).

French investigators are also looking into other names mentioned in the Epstein papers, notably modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel who took his own life in a Paris prison in 2022 after being accused of procuring girls for Epstein.