Newly released documents from the US Justice Department related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein include correspondence with several prominent Lithuanian figures, according to media reports.
The Justice Department has made public about 3.5 million pages of material tied to Epstein after a court order, though many of the documents are heavily redacted. Among the records are emails and financial transactions involving Lithuanian businessman Valdas Petreikis, model Ditė Antanaitytė.
Epstein, a US financier, was convicted of sexually exploiting minors. He died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
His case exposed ties to numerous influential figures worldwide, including US President Donald Trump and other powerful individuals.
Financial ties and inheritance
Lithuanian news outlet 15min.lt reported that the documents show Petreikis was introduced to Epstein by his wife, Simona.
In a 2017 email, Simona Petreikė wrote to Epstein that her husband had organised events in Lithuania for seven years and wanted to elevate the projects to a higher level, asking whether Epstein would consider investing. She also wrote that her friendship with Epstein was very important to her and that his investments in her studies and career had changed her life.
The documents show that in 2017, a foundation operating in the US Virgin Islands linked to Epstein transferred 75,000 euros to a Vilnius-based company, Fors projektai. According to Lithuania’s business registry, Petreikis was the sole shareholder at the time.
Records also indicate that the organisation called Baleto Teatras (Ballet Theatre) received $18,000 in April 2018 and another $10,000 on September 17, 2018. The institution is headed by Petreikis.
In addition, Epstein left $3 million to Simona Petreikė in his will, which was drawn up in 2019, two days before his death.
Petreikis told 15min.lt that he had known Epstein for many years and that their relationship was “social and professional in nature”. He said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal activities at the time.
“Although people close to me were not harmed by his actions, that does not change my assessment – Epstein’s actions are grave and unjustifiable. I unequivocally condemn them,” Petreikis said.
He added that, given Epstein’s crimes, accepting the inheritance “cannot even be considered”.
Other Lithuanian connections
In correspondence released with Lithuanian contacts, Epstein claimed that his grandparents were from Lithuania.
Emails from 2010 between Epstein and model Antanaitytė show that she attempted to introduce him to Lithuanian fashion designer Juozas Statkevičius, according to 15min.lt. The outlet reported that the correspondence also contains numerous hints suggesting the model may have been aware of aspects of Epstein’s sexual behaviour.
15min.lt also reported finding emails indicating that photographs of Lithuanian women were sent to Epstein’s email account. In August 2010 messages, the women’s appearances are discussed. It remains unclear who sent the emails.
No investigations by Lithuanian police
Lithuanian police are not conducting any pretrial investigations related to episodes in the Jeffrey Epstein case that mention Lithuania or Lithuanian names, a police spokesperson said Monday.
“No pretrial investigations have been initiated. If a formal complaint were submitted, a decision would then be made on whether to open an investigation,” Ramūnas Matonis of the Police Department told ELTA.
In the documents released last Friday, Lithuania is mentioned more than 1,200 times, and Vilnius more than 1,000 times.
Vitalijus Gailius, deputy chair of the Lithuanian parliament’s Committee on Law and Legal Affairs, said the prosecutor’s office should take the lead in assessing the situation. He suggested that authorities should evaluate whether the published information shows signs of human trafficking.
“I will say clearly, briefly and responsibly: what I see may contain indications of human trafficking. Specific institutions are responsible for investigating criminal activity and international organised crime, and without question the prosecutor’s office should take the lead here,” Gailius told ELTA.
“It should assess whether the published information shows signs of human trafficking under the criminal code. As a member of parliament and of the legal affairs committee, I see that the legal framework is sufficient to evaluate the published information. If other signs appear, the criminal code also provides liability for involvement in prostitution or exploitation of a person for prostitution.”
Gailius added that if the prosecutor’s office does not respond to the released information, he plans to formally contact the institution to ask whether any procedural actions have been taken.
The story was amended on February 25 to remove the personal details of one individual initially identified in the Epstein files.
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