Virgin Islands prosecutor Denise George took the matter to court on Wednesday January 15 to request the seizure of the assets of financier Jeffrey Epstein, whom she accuses of having sexually assaulted minors in the West Indies until 2019.
The 60-year-old was charged in July 2019 with sexual assault by the Manhattan federal prosecutor. He hanged himself in his cell on August 10 in New York. The action filed by Mme George is an extension of the criminal proceedings against Mr. Epstein, which were dropped after his death.
The Virgin Islands is an American territory, but is not officially part of the United States. The millionaire owned two private islands there, Little St. James and Great St. James.
"Extensive human trafficking network"
This new legal action constitutes an important development because the asset manager had never been charged until now for facts subsequent to 2005. The appeal, filed Wednesday and consulted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), covers a period from 2001 to 2019.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Denise George said she ordered an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein shortly after taking office in May 2019. It showed that the financier had organized a "Vast network of human trafficking, and sexual abuse of young women and minors here in the Virgin Islands".
To hide these activities, Mr. Epstein used a complex montage involving a series of companies and foundations, according to Denise George.
Establish possible complicity
The document filed Wednesday claims, with supporting flight plans, that until 2019, Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplices would have sent young women and minors by plane to the Virgin Islands. They allegedly held out to the alleged victims, mostly between the ages of 12 and 17, career opportunities, particularly in modeling, without any foundation.
Several young women are said to have tried to escape from the island of Little St. James, where they were staying, before being kidnapped and kidnapped by the Jeffrey Epstein team. One, 15, reportedly even tried to run away by swimming.
The prosecutor requests the seizure of all the goods that could have been used "Criminal enterprise", to this man whose personal fortune, with mysterious origins, would reach more than 500 million dollars.
Several civil actions have already been started, mainly by alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein, who are claiming damages. At the same time, several investigations are under way in an attempt to establish possible complicity.
American justice is particularly interested in the former partner of the financier, Ghislaine Maxwell, accused by several alleged victims of having played a decisive role in the organization of the exploitation network of minors.
