What's foreign governments is investigations in the epstein files
Executive summary
The newly released Justice Department trove of more than three million Epstein-related pages has prompted or fed inquiries in several foreign jurisdictions, most visibly the United Kingdom, Slovakia and France, and also shown contacts involving other foreign figures that have attracted scrutiny; the files reveal names, emails and references that have led police reviews, parliamentary pressure and at least one resignation in Europe [1] [2] [3]. Reporting makes clear that the documents do not uniformly trigger criminal probes — in many cases they have prompted evaluations, complaints or preliminary inquiries rather than indictments — and the public record remains partial about the many other foreign-state links the files reference [4] [5].
1. Britain: criminal reviews, police evaluations and political fallout
The largest and most concrete foreign response has come in the UK, where the Metropolitan Police is evaluating material from the files that led to a criminal investigation into former cabinet minister Peter Mandelson and referrals from political parties and ministers; the Met said it had received reports relating to possible misconduct and was deciding whether a formal criminal inquiry was warranted after documentary disclosures suggested potential compromises of confidential information [6] [7] [2]. Journalists and prosecutors in Britain have also used the trove to press for cooperation from figures such as Prince Andrew and others whose ties to Epstein are documented in the tranche, and the revelations have produced resignations and parliamentary demands for fuller answers [5] [2].
2. Slovakia: national security adviser quits after email revelations
Slovakia’s immediate reaction was political and administrative rather than criminal: national security adviser Miroslav Lajčák resigned after emails in the release showed Epstein had invited him to dinners and meetings in 2018; Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accepted the resignation even though Lajčák has not been accused of wrongdoing in the public reporting [8] [2]. The files therefore catalyzed a personnel consequence in Bratislava by documenting social contact, underscoring how even non-criminal references in the documents can produce diplomatic and domestic political consequences [8].
3. France and other continental probes: preliminary inquiries and international dimensions
The material revived previously known lines of inquiry on the continent: Paris prosecutors had already opened a preliminary investigation into Epstein’s alleged international network years earlier, and the newly released documents add context and leads that French authorities and others may use to revisit those cross-border allegations; reporting notes a 2019 Paris preliminary probe and cites continued international interest rooted in the files’ travel and contact records [9] [4]. The DOJ release includes flight logs, emails and other records that, in principle, could support foreign-law enforcement follow-ups, but the public reporting does not yet show a cascade of new foreign indictments tied directly to the 2026 tranche [10] [4].
4. Names, logs and the difference between implication and investigation
Across outlets, reporters emphasize that the presence of a name, an email or a meeting in the files is not the same as evidence of criminal conduct; the Guardian and other outlets stress that some documents are allegations or internal notes rather than prosecutorial findings, and several men named in the material have not been charged and have denied investigations or wrongdoing [3] [4]. The DOJ itself redacted victim identities and withheld some material for ongoing probes, and congressional efforts like the Epstein Files Transparency Act seek to compel fuller disclosure — underscoring that the domestic release is both a source document for foreign investigators and an incomplete record shaped by legal limits [10] [11].
5. What the files show — and what remains opaque
Reporting shows the trove contains emails, flight and visitor logs and internal FBI/DOJ summaries that link Epstein to a broad network of wealthy and political figures worldwide, and those snippets have produced police assessments, political resignations and renewed scrutiny in at least the UK, Slovakia and France [1] [7] [9]. However, available coverage does not provide a complete inventory of every foreign-government investigation inspired by the release; many potential leads remain in the millions of pages and in ongoing reviews, and some alleged links are documented only as tips or internal notes rather than charges — a distinction that must guide how the files are read and how foreign-state responses are assessed [3] [12].