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French authorities search Paris arm of Swiss bank Edmond de Rothschild in Epstein-linked probe

PARIS (AP) — French financial prosecutors said Tuesday that searches were carried out at several locations, including the Paris arm of Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild, as part of an investigation tied to revelations from the files on Jeffrey Epstein.

France’s national financial prosecutor’s office said searches were carried out last Friday as part of a preliminary investigation opened last month. Investigators are examining suspicions of bribery involving a foreign public official and complicity which concerns former French diplomat Fabrice Aidan.

The investigation was opened after a referral from France’s Foreign Ministry and follows revelations published in the Epstein files and subsequent reporting in France.

The case is being handled by France’s central office for combating corruption and tax and financial offenses.

Aidan emerged as a focus of the French fallout from the release of millions of U.S. Justice Department documents on Jan. 30.

French investigative outlet Mediapart reported that the files suggested Aidan provided confidential U.N. material to Epstein. Aidan has denied wrongdoing.

Aidan’s name reportedly appeared in over 200 documents, including emails sent to Jeffrey Epstein between 2010 and 2016 from personal and U.N. accounts, creating suspicions he shared diplomatic documents with Epstein. Aidan’s lawyer has denied wrongdoing and called for respect for the presumption of innocence.

Epstein, the disgraced U.S. financier and convicted sex offender, died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

The files have already shaken prominent figures in France.

Former Culture Minister Jack Lang resigned in February as head of the Arab World Institute after prosecutors opened a preliminary tax fraud investigation following the release of Epstein-related documents in the United States.

He was the highest-profile person in France hit by the latest disclosures.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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