00:00The fallout from the Epstein files has once again reached France.
00:04French diplomat Fabrice Aydin was named more than 200 times in the latest cache of files
00:10released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
00:13Aydin exchanged dozens of emails with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, beginning in 2010.
00:20France's foreign minister announced an inquiry into the issue on Tuesday.
00:24I am referring the matter to the public prosecutor under Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
00:30I will inform them of the alleged facts involving Mr. Fabrice Aydin.
00:34I am also initiating an administrative inquiry to assist the work of the justice system
00:39and launching disciplinary proceedings.
00:42According to French investigative website Mediapart,
00:45Aydin left New York in 2013 following an FBI investigation,
00:50alleging he consulted child pornography on the Internet.
00:54He subsequently took a job at UNESCO.
00:57The former ambassador for France at the United Nations, Gérard Arrault,
01:01denies having covered up the affair.
01:03Aydin currently works for the French energy utility company, the Engie Group,
01:08which has suspended him during the investigation.
01:11The known email exchanges between the former diplomat and Epstein
01:15do not implicate Aydin's involvement in any sexual abuse crimes linked to the American financier.
01:21Mediapart reports that Aydin appears to have acted as a fixer for Epstein during a trip to Paris
01:27and have used his networks to introduce him to political and financial officials in Abu Dhabi.
Comments