Belgium’s Prince Laurent says he declined invitations from Epstein

BRUSSELS

Belgium’s Prince Laurent said Monday that he declined multiple invitations from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and denied attending any public or corporate events where he was present following reports that his name appeared in Epstein's emails.

Speaking to Belga News Agency, Prince Laurent said his statement aimed to "put an end to the rumors.”

"During my internships at the UN and a major bank in New York's financial center, I was approached by Epstein several times. He asked me questions, to which I invariably refused. He wanted to meet my parents to introduce them to his billionaire friends. I told him my parents were not for sale," he said.

Laurent added that Epstein attempted to use him as a link to European schools and universities "so he could teach economics there, especially at universities with female students," noting that he rejected the proposal.

The prince also said that Epstein later invited him to take part in an environmental project that was "clearly intended to commit corruption," which he said he refused.

Laurent further said that in 2012, Epstein invited him to a dinner in Paris, allegedly attended by a head of state and influential businessmen.

"I declined his invitation again, telling him I wasn't interested in the ostentatious display of wealth and that I didn't need him to interact with heads of state. He replied, frustrated, that no one declined such invitations," Laurent said.

In a second statement to Belga, Prince Laurent clarified that he had met Epstein privately on two occasions, after initially saying he had never attended any event involving him.

"When I said I never attended an event where Epstein or his entourage were present, I was referring to public or corporate events. However, I did meet Epstein privately twice, at his request: once in the early 1990s and again in the early 2000s," he said.

The prince did not provide details on the purpose or location of those meetings but reiterated that Epstein had sought to use him to gain access to his family.

On Jan. 30, US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the release of over 3 million pages of records alongside approximately 2,000 videos and 180,000 images related to the Epstein investigation.

While this was described as the final major production intended to fulfill the Department of Justice’s obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the release was not an unredacted "all documents" dump.

The disclosure of over 3 million pages includes references to numerous prominent figures, including US President Donald Trump, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former US President Bill Clinton.

Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit such offenses. He was denied bail by a Manhattan court and was later found dead by suicide in his cell while awaiting trial.