Eptein Files: Who are Fabrice Aidan, Jean-Luc Brunel? France to open probe linked to high-profile names

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French authorities opened new probes into possible sexual and financial crimes linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and are reportedly revisiting the file on modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who died in a French prison in 2022.

Paris prosecutors said Saturday they’re investigating the roles of three people whose names appear in the Epstein files. They are French diplomat Fabrice Aidan, modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel and conductor Frédéric Chaslin.

Epstein Files

The US Justice Department’s release of a large tranche of Epstein files prompted the Paris prosecutor’s office to set up a dedicated investigation team to analyse the documents for possible links to French nationals.

With Epstein's known circle now extending to prominent French figures, the prosecutor's office said it would also thoroughly re-examine the case of a former French modelling agency executive, Jean-Luc Brunel.

The new team will work closely with prosecutors from the national financial crimes unit and police with a view to opening investigations into any suspected crimes involving French nationals, the Paris prosecutor's office told AFP.

Who is Fabrice Aidan?

Aidan is a middle-ranking French diplomat who had ties to Jeffrey Epstein. He is suspected of transferring United Nations documents to the late convicted sex offender, Reuters reported.

He joined the Foreign Ministry around 2000 and is identified by the ministry as a "principal secretary of foreign affairs currently on personal leave and working outside the ministry," the report added.

Aidan's work at the ministry included a secondment at UN headquarters in New York from 2006 to 2013. At the time of his resignation from the secondment, a disciplinary process against him was underway, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, was quoted as saying.

How is Aidan linked with Epstein?

The name of Fabrice Aidan reportedly appeared in more than 200 documents released by the US Department of Justice, including emails he sent to Epstein between 2010 and 2016 from both his personal and US accounts.

As per Reuters, in one email exchange, Aidan asked Epstein whether he could have the entrance codes to the financier's luxury apartment in Paris - a request Epstein responded to favourably.

The diplomat, Fabrice Aidan, was also accused of acting as a fixer for Epstein. He reportedly provided him with contacts and information.

Investigative site Mediapart notes he was also investigated by the FBI in 2013 over child pornography allegations while living in New York.

Prosecutors said they were notified by the Foreign Ministry in Paris that his name came up and are looking into compiling further evidence.

A lawyer for Aidan previously denied any wrongdoing on the part of her client to AFP.

Who was Jean-Luc Brunel?

Jean Luc Brunel was a French modeling agent who killed himself in jail in 2022 while awaiting trial on rape charges.

Brunel co-founded French modelling agency Karin Models in 1977, and MC2 Model Management in the US with funding from Epstein.

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This undated handout photograph in an unidentified location provided by the US Justice Department on December 19, 2025 shows French businessman Jean-Luc Brunel. (AFP)

Brunel was found dead in his cell in a Paris prison in 2022 after having been charged with raping minors.

The case against him was dropped in 2023 in the wake of his death, with no other person charged.

How was Brunel linked to Epstein?

Brunel was an associate of Epstein’s. Emails between the two showed they discussed aspects of Brunel’s modeling agency, Bloomberg reported.

The friendship soured after Epstein pleaded guilty to state sex-crime charges in Florida in June 2008.

Brunel was investigated on suspicion of the rape of minors and the trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation. He, however, had denied any wrongdoing, the BBC reported.