On March 20, 2026, French financial investigators raided the Paris headquarters of the Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild. This raid is part of an ongoing preliminary investigation by the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) into potential corruption and financial links tied to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
The primary target of the probe is Fabrice Aidan, a former French diplomat who worked at Edmond de Rothschild from 2014 to 2016. Authorities are investigating several specific allegations:
Passive Corruption: Prosecutors are examining whether Aidan used his position to share confidential documents, including U.N. Security Council briefings, with Epstein between 2010 and 2016.
Corruption of a Foreign Public Official: Investigators are looking into whether these interactions involved the bribery of a foreign official, though the specific official has not been named.
Evidence in “Epstein Files”: The investigation was triggered by the January 2026 release of millions of documents by the U.S. Justice Department, which contained over 200 emails and documents mentioning Aidan.
Professional Ties: Documents released in January revealed she had maintained a personal and professional correspondence with Epstein from 2013 to 2019.
Financial Deals: The records show that Edmond de Rothschild paid Epstein $25 million in 2015 to assist with a DOJ settlement regarding Americans hiding assets at the bank.
Bank Response: A spokesperson for the bank stated that these interactions occurred in the normal course of business and that Ariane de Rothschild had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct. This investigation is part of a larger legal “domino effect” in France following the new document releases. Other notable developments include the resignation of former culture minister Jack Lang from his role at the Arab World Institute after prosecutors opened a separate tax fraud probe linked to the same disclosures.
