afp/dpa | The former French Minister of Culture Jack Lang has because of his Contacts with US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein submitted his resignation as head of a renowned cultural institute in Paris. In a letter to Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, seen by the AFP news agency on Saturday, Lang offered to resign as president of the Arab World Institute (IMA). Barrot announced that he would discuss an interim chairman with the board of directors.
The French public prosecutor’s office responsible for financial crimes opened an investigation against Lang on Friday. According to the public prosecutor’s office, he is charged with “serious tax fraud”. The investigation is related to alleged financial connections between Lang and his daughter Caroline with Epstein. Lang dismissed the allegations as “groundless”.
Lang has headed the Arab World Institute since 2013, which is co-financed by the French Foreign Ministry. The ministry had already summoned Lang for Sunday because of his frequent contacts with Epstein. France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has taken note of Lang’s resignation as president of the Paris cultural institute “Institut du monde arabe” (IMA), the French Foreign Ministry confirmed, and is initiating the process to appoint a successor.
Financial connections are the focus of the investigation
Lang held various government positions under former presidents François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac. Published by the US Department of Justice at the end of January more than three million documents related to the Epstein case The names of numerous influential personalities appear – including Jack Lang’s name more than 670 times. A mere mention in the files does not mean misconduct. Lang has previously cited his “naïveté” regarding the relationship.
The now announced investigation by the public prosecutor’s office concerns Lang’s alleged financial connections to the dead US financier Epstein, which the French investigative media “Mediapart” reported on. This is said to be about a company founded by Epstein and based in a tax haven, in which Caroline Lang held half of the shares. According to Mediapart, the company was founded in 2016.
Several French politicians had called for the former minister to resign – including the current head of the Socialist Party, to which Lang belongs. “It is disturbing the way he talks about the affair today,” said PS boss Olivier Faure. He suggested that Lang resign “to protect the institution.”
A photo together in front of the Louvre in 2019
Lang had initially ruled out giving up his post. “Requesting a patron is not a crime,” the 86-year-old emphasized on Wednesday. He had previously admitted that he had asked Epstein for around 58,000 euros for a film about his time in office. However, the film was not made. “I was maybe a little naive,” Lang admitted. Epstein was “not a friend”, he “didn’t know anything” and broke off contact when he found out about Epstein’s conviction as a sex offender. In fact, Lang can be seen alongside Epstein in a photo in front of the Louvre in 2019.
As Minister of Culture under Mitterrand, Land played a significant role in the architectural design of Paris through monumental building projects that included the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Grande Arche in La Defénse and the glass pyramid as the new main entrance to the Louvre. As Minister of Culture, he launched the Fête de la Musique in 1982 and the open days at historical sights in 1984, which have since taken place in Germany as “Open Monument Days”. He also initiated the founding of numerous cultural centers in the provinces.
“Mediapart” also found evidence in the newly published Epstein files that Lang had Epstein finance cars with a chauffeur on several occasions. In 2017, Lang is said to have invited Epstein to a “small circle” birthday party. When asked by Mediapart, Lang said he couldn’t remember it. He didn’t have to pay a driver either – “taxi at most,” he admitted.
Lang’s daughter Carolin is also resigning
According to a report by Mediapart, Lang is also quoted in the statutes of an offshore company that Epstein founded with Lang’s daughter to invest in young artists. Lang’s daughter Carolin resigned from her position at an association of film producers because of this.
Following the recent publication of documents relating to the Epstein case also other former European government officials came into the sights of the authorities because of financial ties to the sex offender. Investigations are underway against former British economics minister Peter Mandelsonbecause he is said to have passed on sensitive information to Epstein during the financial crisis.
The investor and billionaire Epstein, who was networked in the highest circles, was found dead in his prison cell in New York in 2019; according to official information, the convicted sex offender committed suicide. He was accused of having abused more than a thousand girls and women and of having passed them on to celebrities.