Lithuanian prosecutors said Tuesday they have opened a pretrial investigation into possible human trafficking after reviewing information revealed in recently published correspondence of US financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The decision followed a detailed assessment of the initial data, the General Prosecutor’s Office said, noting that “an objective and comprehensive examination of circumstances raising legal doubts is possible only during a pretrial investigation”.
The investigation is being conducted by the Panevėžys County Police Department and organised, coordinated, and supervised by the Panevėžys District Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities are currently reviewing the publicly released information, analysing the legal framework, and exchanging information with international partners, the prosecutors said.
Officials urged anyone with valuable information or potential victims of these alleged crimes to come forward.
The released Epstein files reportedly show connections with several Lithuanian artists and models, as well as the spouses Simona Petreikė and Valdas Petreikis, whose cultural organisations received tens of thousands of euros from Epstein’s foundation in the late 2010s.
In his will, Epstein also bequeathed $3 million to Simona Petreikė. The family said the inheritance was unexpected and that they refused it. Valdas Petreikis told the media he interacted with Epstein for social and professional purposes and was unaware of his crimes but later announced he would exit the event-organising business.
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Documents show that after Epstein’s first incarceration, he sent messages to several people, including Petreikė, claiming he was “free and at home”.
Petreikis is one of the organisers of the Midsummer Vilnius festival. Following revelations of his ties to Epstein, performer Monika Liu cancelled her participation, and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra also withdrew.
President Gitanas Nausėda, speaking Tuesday morning to the radio Žinių Radijas, urged Lithuanian authorities to thoroughly review the disclosed information and, if necessary, make use of American legal assistance. Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė told BNS she trusts that law enforcement will take the matter seriously.
On Monday, the General Prosecutor’s Office said it had no information from US authorities regarding Lithuanian victims or suspects in the Epstein case and did not comment on whether it would review circumstances revealed in the Epstein files.
Epstein, a US financier, pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and was sentenced to 13 months in jail, serving most of the term under a work-release program. In July 2019, he was arrested in New York on federal charges related to the sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors and died by suicide in his jail cell in August 2019 before trial.
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