Epstein 'madam' Ghislaine Maxwell hiding in Paris: reports

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at a New York event in 2005. Photo / Getty

Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite who allegedly acted as a fixer for paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, has been hiding out in a luxury Paris apartment, a British newspaper claims.

Maxwell is wanted for questioning by US authorities over her links to the disgraced financier.

The 58-year-old, daughter of media mogul Robert Maxwell, has been off the radar since 2016 when she stopped appearing at public events as prosecutors began to close in on Epstein, her former boyfriend.

Now the Sun claims to have located Maxwell in Paris, just five minutes from a huge apartment owned Epstein.

Maxwell's hiding spot is on Avenue Matignon, in the 8th Arrondissement, not far from Epstein's former home on Avenue Foch, which was raided by French police last year.

It is also a short walk from the Israeli embassy.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at a New York event in 2005. Photo / Getty

The Sun reports that Maxwell was spotted on Avenue Matignon shortly before France entered Covid-19 lockdown in March and a source told the paper that "she wants to remain in France for as long as she can to take advantage of extradition laws and has a huge network of contacts willing to keep her hidden".

"It doesn't mean she won't be ­prosecuted for her links to Epstein," the source said. "But if she does end up facing charges it will be in France and not the US."

It's also reported that Maxwell was seen leaving the Israeli embassy, which is likely to stoke conspiracy theories linking Epstein's "madam" to the Israeli secret service.

Her late father is buried in Israel and it is rumoured that both father and daughter have ties to Mossad.

Ghislaine Maxwell once dated Epstein and remained close to the disgraced financier, repeatedly seen on his arm at glitzy events.

Beneath that public profile though, Maxwell is accused of procuring underage models and other young girls for Epstein.

The most prominent of those victims is Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who told the BBC that Maxwell was instrumental in introducing her to Prince Andrew.

Prince Andrew, Virigina Roberts Giuffre, and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2001. Photo / Supplied

Virginia Roberts Giuffre speaks during an interview on the BBC Panorama programme. Photo / AP

According to Giuffre, she was staying Maxwell's London apartment in 2001 when they then went to Tramp nightclub, where she danced with the royal, who was "the most hideous dancer I'd ever seen in my life".

She said that after the club Maxwell told her "we're going to go back to the townhouse now and Andrew's coming with us".

"In the car, Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey – and that just made me sick," Giuffre told the BBC.

The next morning, she said, Maxwell "pats me on the back and said you made him really happy".