Jeffrey Epstein housed some of his alleged abuse victims in flats in London after police in the UK decided against investigating him, according to a BBC investigation.
The BBC said it had uncovered evidence of four flats in Kensington and Chelsea in receipts, emails and bank records contained within the Epstein files. Six women who stayed in the properties have since accused the late financier of sexually abusing them.
Some of the women – including some from Russia and eastern Europe – 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. Giuffre claimed in a 2021 US lawsuit that the Duke of York had sex with her at a home in London in 2001 when she was 17 after she had been trafficked by Epstein. The duke has denied the allegations.
The BBC reported various details from files dated around 2018 and 2019 showing Epstein corresponding with women housed in the flats. In some exchanges, Epstein uses aggressive language after the women apparently complained of conditions. He reportedly swears at one woman, calls her “rude” and accuses her of “disgusting behaviour”. Epstein also paid for at least five women – many of whom were in the UK on student visas – to study in London.
The Metropolitan police said in a statement: “No allegations relating to criminal conduct in London have been made to the police by the six women referred to in the coverage, but specialist officers are ready to speak to them should they wish to come forward. In 2015, following a letter from lawyers acting for Virginia Giuffre, the Met followed reasonable lines of enquiry… No allegation of criminal conduct was made against any UK‑based individual within those interviews and therefore no investigation was commenced.”
