Poland to probe whether Polish children were abused by Epstein
The Polish government will set up an analytical team to verify whether Polish children were abused by criminal circles run by the late US billionaire, Jeffrey Epstein, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said.
On Friday, the US Department of Justice published about 3 million pages of documents from the case concerning Epstein, who maintained contacts with a number of rich and influential people around the world and who, as it turned out, was involved in sex trafficking of minors.
"Together with the justice minister, the prosecutor general (Waldemar Zurek serves both functions - PAP), and the minister-coordinator of special services, we decided to set up an analytical team, and perhaps to launch an investigation as well, if analyses confirm our concerns related to the paedophilic scandal in the United States," Tusk said before a government meeting on Tuesday.
The prime minister said it was "a completely unprecedented case" that was attracting the attention of the Polish public and ministers "due to the so-called Polish threads or traces in this whole affair."
Tusk said that the scandal had revealed "first pieces of information about individuals who, for example, reported to Mr Epstein from Krakow that they already had a group of Polish women or girls," adding there were more such clues in the case.
"That is why I will ask both prosecutors and special services to conduct a very detailed, quick and thorough analysis, file by file, of every document currently available in the public domain," he said.
Tusk vowed that, if the suspicions prove true, his government will do everything to compensate the victims and "effectively prosecute those who commit such horrendous crimes."
Poland may also ask the US to provide unpublished evidence "that could concern potential Polish victims or Polish traces" in the case, Tusk said.
Additionally, Poland may advocate launching an international investigation in talks with foreign partners, Tusk added.
Government spokesperson Adam Szlapka later said that the analytical team examining possible Polish links to the so-called Epstein scandal would be headed by Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Zurek and would include prosecutors as well as officers from the police and security services.
Speaking at a press conference following a cabinet meeting, Szlapka said the team would be set up at the direction of the prime minister and operate under the coordinated oversight of Zurek and the minister-coordinator of special services, Tomasz Siemoniak.
"The team will be chaired by Minister Zurek and will comprise prosecutors, police officers and officers of the services," the spokesperson said.
Szlapka added that the team would be small and classified, saying that Zurek would be responsible for communication on the matter and that work would begin immediately. (PAP)
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