A review has identified that nearly 90 aircraft journeys connected to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein are said to have landed at and took off from UK airfields, with some reportedly transporting women from the UK who assert they were abused by the found guilty sex offender.
The flight logs were among a trove of court documents and files made public by the estate of Jeffrey Epstein that have been released over the last year. The investigation uncovered 87 aircraft movements tied to Epstein ā featuring many that were hitherto undisclosed ā coming into or leaving from British airfields between the early 1990s and 2018.
Unnamed women were listed among the passengers entering and exiting the UK. Crucially, 15 of these UK flights took place subsequent to Epsteinās 2008 guilty verdict for procuring prostitution from a child.
āThis is āshockingā that there had never been a āfull-scale UK investigationā into his dealings in the country,ā said American attorneys acting for numerous Epstein victims.
A statement from one of the UK-based survivors helped convict Epsteinās accomplice socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking of minors in the US in 2021. Yet, that victim has not been approached by UK authorities, as stated by her Florida-based lawyer.
In a response, the the Met stated they had ānot been provided with any new evidence that would support reopening the investigation.ā They added, āShould fresh and pertinent information be brought to our attention, encompassing any resulting from the release of documents in the US, we will assess it.ā
Proposed legislation to release all files held by the American government in regarding Epstein passed the US Congress last month. The US justice department has until 19 December to adhere to this requirement. Hundreds of thousands of files are projected to be released.
In a related development, a US judge ordered last week that the department could publicly release evidence from a trafficking prosecution against Maxwell, Epsteinās long-term associate, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence over the charges.
Elara is a science writer and astronomer with a passion for unraveling cosmic mysteries and sharing insights with readers worldwide.