French prosecutors have opened a preliminary inquiry into whether Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced American multimillionaire, committed rape or sexual abuse of minors in France.
It came after growing calls for investigators to look into allegations of abuse at the late financier's palatial apartment off the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
"The investigations will focus on potential crimes against French victims committed on national territory as well as abroad, and on perpetrators who are French citizens," said Remy Heitz, a Paris lawyer. Prosecutors will also look into claims that for years Epstein and others had operated a child sex ring.
Epstein was arrested on July 6 in New Jersey after his private jet landed on a flight from Paris, where he had a residence near the Arc de Triomphe.
He denied US charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls. He was found hanged at his New York jail cell on Aug 10. This week Innocence in Danger, a French child protection charity, announced it had gathered 10 witness statements alleging sex crimes involving minors in France.
