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Former French culture minister resigns amid Epstein links investigation

Jack Lang is facing allegations of past financial ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

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open image in galleryJack Lang has stepped down (AFP via Getty Images)

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Jack Lang, France’s former Culture Minister, has stepped down from his role as head of a prominent Parisian cultural centre following allegations of past financial ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The claims have prompted a tax investigation into Mr Lang and his daughter.

Mr Lang, a highly influential figure in French politics known for his tenure as culture minister under Socialist President François Mitterrand in the 1980s and 1990s, was summoned by the French Foreign Ministry on Sunday before submitting his resignation.

The ministry, which oversees the Arab World Institute, confirmed his departure on Saturday evening.

The financial prosecutors' office has launched an investigation into Mr Lang and his daughter, Caroline, concerning alleged "aggravated tax fraud laundering".

open image in galleryLang is facing allegations of ties to Jeffrey Epstein (AFP/New York State Sex Offender)

This follows a report last week by French investigative news website Mediapart, which detailed purported financial and business links between the Lang family and Jeffrey Epstein through an offshore company based in the US Virgin Islands.

Mr Lang's name reportedly appeared over 600 times in the Epstein files, released by the US Department of Justice on 30 January, indicating intermittent correspondence between 2012 and 2019.

His daughter was also referenced in the documents. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has acknowledged the resignation and initiated the process to find a successor for Mr Lang, who had led the Arab World Institute since 2013.

Lang denies any wrongdoing.

More Epstein files were released last week, and the file dump has heightened scrutiny of Epstein's global connections with public figures, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles, and Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the United States.

Mandelson is now facing a police investigation, while Andrew moved out of the Royal Lodge earlier this week after photos appeared to show him leaning over an unidentified woman lying on the floor.