Lithuania’s prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday that it is launching an investigation into possible human trafficking following the release of documents related to American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Names of prominent Lithuanians appear in the files published by the US Department of Justice last Friday, Reuters reported.
According to the Lithuanian media, these are several models and personalities from the field of art. In connection with this, several performers have already announced boycott of the art festival Midsummer Vilnius, whose promoter Valdas Petreikis is listed in the documents as receiving payments from Epstein. Petreikis claims he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes when they met, denies any wrongdoing and due to public criticism, he withdraws from promoting art events.
The Lithuanian police and prosecutor’s office are currently evaluating publicly available information, are analyzing the legal framework and exchanging data with international partners, said Lithuania’s Prosecutor General’s Office, which did not release the names of the suspects or the nature of their possible crimes in connection with the suspicion of possible human trafficking.
American since last year the Justice Department released millions of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. The last time was on Friday approximately three million pages of documents, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos. The release comes six weeks after the Justice Department missed a statutory deadline, which required him to make available to the public all documents relating to this financier.
On August 10, 2019, Epstein was found in his cell in a New York prison awaiting trial on charges of sexual abuse and trafficking of minors. The medical examiner established the cause of death as suicide by hanging.
Scandal in Great Britain
The former ambassador of the United Kingdom to the USA, Peter Mandelson, is resigning as a member of the upper chamber of the British Parliament – the House of Lords. The announcement came on Tuesday after he deepened the scandal surrounding Mandelson’s ties to Epstein. It was reported by the AFP agency.
The move came shortly after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that Mandelson – a former minister in Labor governments and EU trade commissioner – “let his country down” because he provided Epstein with information about highly sensitive government matters in emails. Starmer described the action as disgraceful and added that he was still “not sure that all the information has come out” regarding Mandelson’s ties to Epstein.
At the same time, Starmer announced that his government was preparing a law that would strip Mandelson of his peerage. He also said the British government would cooperate with investigators alleged leak of confidential government information the American financier and sex offender Epstein, convicted of abusing minors.
The AFP agency reminded that Starmer is currently facing growing criticism in Britain for his decision to appoint Mandelson as British ambassador to Washington, where in September 2025 – less than a year after taking office – he withdrew precisely because of ties to Epstein. The Epstein affair casts a shadow not only on Britain, but also on Washington and Europe, and many well-known politicians are involved in it.
British police begin investigation into Mandelsonwho is suspected of having provided confidential government information to financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, British media reported on Tuesday as quoted by AFP. The Metropolitan Police, which said on Monday it was investigating several reports of “alleged misconduct in public office,” did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
The European Commission said on Tuesday it would investigate whether Mandelson, who served as EU trade commissioner from 2004 to 2008, he did not violate her code of conduct with his ties to Epstein.
The US Department of Justice released what is believed to be the latest batch of material from the Epstein files last Friday (January 30), escalating the political drama that is putting pressure on US President Donald Trump. At the same time, the head of the White House tried for months to block the publication of investigative files connected to Epstein, who for years moved in elite circles and cultivated ties with billionaires, politicians, academics and celebrities.
Published records, e.g. suggest that in 2009, Mandelson, who was then the UK’s trade secretary, sent Epstein an economic report intended for then leader Gordon Brown, describing: “An interesting message that went to the Prime Minister”.
Epstein also appears to have transferred a total of $75,000 – in three payments – to bank accounts linked to Mandelson. However, he told the BBC on Sunday that he does not remember these money transfers and does not know if the documents are genuine.
Mandelson has expressed regret about his contacts with Epstein. He claimed to have believed the information about him, which later turned out to be false. He also stated that he did not know about Epstein’s sexual crimes and was not responsible for them. But he admitted he made a mistake in keeping in touch with him after his first conviction.
