Sex-criminal financier Jeffrey Epstein housed women he allegedly abused in several London flats in the years after UK police decided not to investigate him, a BBC investigation has revealed.
We found evidence of four flats, rented in the affluent borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in receipts, emails and bank records contained within the Epstein files. Six of the women housed in them have since come forward as victims of Epstein's abuse.
Many of them - from Russia, eastern Europe and elsewhere - were brought to the UK after the Metropolitan Police decided not to investigate Virginia Giuffre's 2015 allegation that she had been a victim of international trafficking to London.
The Met has claimed that they followed reasonable inquiry lines, interviewing Giuffre and cooperating with US investigators.
Some of the women housed in the London flats were reportedly coerced by Epstein to recruit others into his sex trafficking scheme and often transported to Paris to visit him, according to emails in the files. The BBC searched through millions of records gathered by the US Department of Justice to create a detailed picture of Epstein's operation in the UK.
The investigation shows that Epstein's operation grew more extensive than previously known, with more victims, established infrastructure such as housing, and frequent cross-border transportation of women right up to his death.
The investigation revealed British police had other opportunities to open inquiries into Epstein’s activities beyond Giuffre's complaint, including new allegations that emerged in early 2020. Despite Epstein's death in jail awaiting trial, British authorities have been scrutinized for their failure to act on credible complaints.
Tessa Gregory, a human rights lawyer, stated the need for accountability from the UK state, highlighting the obligation to conduct effective investigations where credible trafficking allegations exist.
With oppression lingering, the investigation prompted calls for a public inquiry to determine how such widespread abuse occurred without sufficient oversight and action from authorities.
