Former Minister of Culture Jack Lang, forced to leave the presidency of the Arab World Institute after the opening of an investigation for money laundering, declared in La Tribune Dimanche to be "white as snow", denouncing "a tsunami of lies" in the media, and claiming to have known nothing of the child criminal actions of Jeffrey Epstein.
Published on: 02/15/2026 - 12:15
Former Culture Minister Jack Lang, forced to resign from the Arab World Institute (IMA) after the opening of an investigation into his links with Jeffrey Epstein, reaffirmed that he was "white as snow". In an interview published on Sunday April 15 in La Tribune Dimanche, he denounced “a tsunami of lies”.
“Let justice, real justice and not media or digital justice, take up this subject,” asserts the former socialist minister, who says he is “relieved” when asked for his reaction to the opening of an investigation targeting him and his daughter Caroline for “laundering of aggravated tax fraud”.
Jack Lang resigned from the presidency of the IMA after the opening of an investigation by the national financial prosecutor's office for "laundering of tax fraud" caused by revelations about an "offshore" company that his daughter Caroline Lang founded in 2016 with the American businessman.
“Jeffrey Epstein proposed creating a fund to buy the works of young artists. I thought it was a good idea. As for the rest, I didn't take care of it,” replies Jack Lang, whose name appeared in the company's statutes.
“Everything is legal,” says Jack Lang
“Everything is legal,” he reaffirms, once again assuring that he “never received a cent” from the businessman who died in prison in 2019, when he was accused of having been at the head of a child crime network.
See also Epstein file: investigation into possible offenses linked to French people
“When it comes to Mr. Jeffrey Epstein, I am as white as snow,” assures Jack Lang, according to whom “a tsunami of lies, gossip and peddling has poured through the media, a sort of mud storm.”
As for the solicitation of funds to finance two films, one about his daughter Valérie, who died in 2013, the other about the "Lang-Mitterrand" years, "all of this is perfectly legal and banal", according to him.
At that time, Jeffrey Epstein had already been convicted (in 2009) for soliciting an underage prostitute.
“I knew nothing about it! And all these beautiful souls, who today tell us about this conviction, were also unaware of it,” he defends himself.
He admits to having dined "once", "in Paris", with the financier.
“Never in my life has money been a driving force”
“Never in my life has money been a driving force,” also affirms the former Minister of Culture, emblematic of François Mitterrand (1981-1986 and 1988-1993), while several articles described him this week as a socialite leaving slates.
See also Epstein affair: confusion and misinformation surrounding the presence of Audrey Azoulay in the documents
“I’m always used to paying my bills,” he assures, conceding that the designer “Thierry Mugler offered to dress me two or three times. What’s extraordinary.”
Furthermore, when asked about his succession to the IMA, Jack Lang found that "it would be good if it was a woman, it has always been men".
With AFP
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