Tech giants have been ordered to preserve Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's messages to his paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein as part of a criminal investigation. Prosecutors have also demanded they retain the royal's conversations with his friend, convicted teen sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Prosecutors Demand Records from Tech Companies
New Mexico's Attorney General Raúl Torrez has sent letters to more than two dozen companies, including email, cloud, and messaging services such as Google, WhatsApp, and Yahoo. American Express and Expedia have also received them. All companies have been ordered to lock down any records connected to Epstein's Zorro Ranch and the network of people who passed through it, including the royal.
A source familiar with the investigation told Mirror: “Andrew is recorded to have visited the ranch a number of times, and former Zorro staff have already been questioned about what they remember of his time there, who he was with and how he moved around the property.
“But the preservation orders issued by prosecutors are important because they hope to capture communications involving Epstein, Maxwell, and all those who stayed there. It is about ensuring evidence is held before it disappears. No one is saying every person who went to Zorro committed a crime, but investigators want the fullest possible account of what happened at the ranch and who knew what.”
Escalation in Criminal Probe
The letters, sent in May, mark a significant escalation in the criminal probe into Epstein's secretive 8,000-acre Santa Fe ranch, where at least ten women and girls have alleged they were groomed or abused. The sex offender reportedly had plans to make the ranch a "baby-making factory" where he would inseminate victims. Computer scientist and writer Jaron Lanier claimed he had previously spoken to a fellow scientist who revealed the convicted paedophile's goal of having at least 20 women at a time impregnated at the ranch. Epstein had hoped to use the property to "seed the human race with his DNA."
Among those whose communications investigators want preserved are Epstein's longtime assistant Lesley Groff and Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year US prison sentence for sex trafficking.
“Reopening the investigation into allegations at Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch was undertaken with deep respect for survivors and a commitment to accountability,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said. He called the letters one step and said his investigation required the testimony of survivors. “We continue to seek out insight from anyone with information concerning abuse or other illegal activity that occurred at the ranch,” Torrez added.
Andrew's Continued Scrutiny
For Mountbatten Windsor, 66, stripped of his royal titles after years of controversy over his ties to Epstein, the New Mexico investigation ensures the scandal he has spent years trying to put behind him continues. According to former staff and Epstein's accuser, Virginia Giuffre, who died last year by suicide, Andrew visited Zorro on several occasions. While there, he is alleged to have formed a close relationship with a glamorous neurosurgeon called Melania Walker.
The source added: “Any message Mountbatten-Windsor sent to Epstein or Maxwell in connection with Zorro cannot now be destroyed. Unfortunately for the (ex) prince, Epstein used a Gmail account to converse with him, which places every message they ever exchanged in the sights of New Mexico’s investigations. Despite Epstein being dead and Maxwell locked up, it is not enough for their exchanges not to come back to haunt Mountbatten-Windsor.”
Secrecy of the Ranch
The ranch has long been one of the most secretive corners of Epstein's sex trafficking empire. Former staff have already given detailed accounts of life at Zorro, from day-to-day operations to the comings and goings of high-profile guests. Ranch hands, cleaners, administrative staff and senior managers have all been contacted and asked questions about Epstein and Maxwell. One of those questioned used to pick Andrew up from the local airports to take him to the property.
Investigators have been particularly interested in guest lists, movements on and off the property, and who had access to different areas of the estate. The Mirror previously revealed that ex-employees have been specifically asked about Mountbatten-Windsor’s time on the ranch. It is not suggested that those being questioned have done anything wrong. They are being treated as witnesses, not suspects, at this stage.
Scope of Investigation
But the breadth of companies now under legal obligation to preserve records illustrates just how seriously New Mexico's Department of Justice is now treating the case, almost seven years after Epstein's death in a New York jail cell. Attorney General Torrez has made clear that the preservation letters are only the beginning. He has also said the probe depends heavily on survivors coming forward, warning that, given the passage of time and corporate data retention policies, some records may already be lost. Frustratingly for investigators, repeated requests to the federal Department of Justice (DoJ) for full, unredacted access to its own Epstein files have so far gone unanswered.
A DoJ spokeswoman insisted the department "has not refused to assist any jurisdiction investigating potential criminal conduct related to Jeffrey Epstein," but New Mexico has nonetheless been forced to go directly to private companies to secure evidence. The state’s original investigation into Zorro Ranch was shut down in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors. Its reopening, and the scale of the preservation letters now landing on the desks of some of the world's biggest companies, suggest investigators believe crucial evidence may still survive.
Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and says he has no recollection of meeting Giuffre, who accused him of sexual abuse in a US civil case that was settled without any admission of liability. New Mexico Attorney General’s Office declined to comment, citing an ongoing criminal investigation.
