Britain’s Ministry of Defence is reviewing flight records that could hold information relating to Jeffrey Epstein, a ministry spokesperson said, after files appeared to show the late U.S. sex offender landed his private jet at military bases.
British police are already assessing whether Epstein trafficked women through two London airports and one in central England on private flights, as part of a nationally coordinated effort to investigate the disgraced financier’s ties to Britain.
But calls are growing for police to also investigate whether Royal Air Force bases such as Marham, in eastern England, and Northolt, near London, were used for the same activity after the files appeared to show Epstein’s private jet had landed there too.
Private jets regularly use RAF Northolt, but it is much less common for them to land at RAF Marham, which is a key frontline base.
Defence minister John Healey has now ordered a review of military flight records, the MoD spokesperson said in a statement late on Thursday.
“The Defence Secretary has ordered a review of all records that the department may hold relating to Epstein flights landing at RAF bases to ensure that any information which relates to Epstein’s crimes is uncovered and provided to the relevant authorities,” the spokesperson said.
The MoD will support any civilian police investigations, the statement said, adding that the ministry’s thoughts were with the victims of Epstein’s “vile crimes”.
Nearly seven years after his death, the Epstein scandal continues to rock the British establishment.
The latest batch of files released in January led to the brief arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, King Charles’ brother, and then of Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the U.S, over their suspected sharing of confidential government documents with Epstein.
In another development, Epstein tried to buy a multimillion-dollar palace in Morocco the day before his arrest in 2019, according to documents released by the US Department of Justice last month.
Epstein had pursued acquiring Bin Ennakhil since 2011, but disputes with the seller over the price and purchase arrangement dragged on for years.
The grand palace in the luxury Palmeraie neighbourhood of Marrakech has been described as an architectural masterpiece, built by 1,300 craftsmen and featuring ornate carvings and mosaics.
Epstein signed a $14.95m (£11m) wire transfer on 5 July 2019, the day before his arrest, following an agreement to buy the offshore company that owned the property for €18m (£13.3m).
According to the released documents, the transfer was Epstein’s last major financial transaction in the period before his arrest by US authorities on sex trafficking charges upon his return to New York.
Three days after the arrest, Epstein’s accountant Richard Kahn cancelled the wire transfer and the purchase was ultimately never completed.
Morocco has no extradition treaty with the US and local media has speculated that one of Epstein’s motivations to purchase the property may have been to retreat to the country to avoid arrest, if new charges were brought against him.
However, a former associate of Epstein, who preferred not to be named, said the transaction showed Epstein “had no clue” about his imminent arrest.
They added that “it would make sense if he was thinking of a potential sanctuary where he could still live like a king”.
The released files, however, contain no reference to Epstein discussing the country as a possible refuge from US authorities.
