Financier Jeffrey Epstein kept his victims in London apartments for several years after British police decided not to prosecute him.
This is stated in a BBC investigation.
Journalists analyzed data from the “Epstein files” — bank statements, letters and bills — and found evidence of four such apartments, rented in the wealthy areas of Kensington and Chelsea. Six women who lived there later claimed to have been victims of abuse by Epstein.
According to media reports, the young women were living there, some of whom were brought from Russia and Eastern Europe after the Metropolitan Police decided not to investigate Virginia Giuffreʼs 2015 claim that she was a victim of international trafficking organised by people in London.
Despite being located in prestigious neighborhoods, the apartments were sometimes overcrowded, with women having to sleep on couches. In some cases, Epstein reacted angrily when women complained about the living conditions, emails show.
In one instance, Epstein said he would pay the womanʼs rent as a "gift" if she worked for him for six months, but in another he said he would consider it a loan that had to be paid back. In one message, Epstein cursed at the woman, calling her "rude" and saying that she was "disgusting" and that she was "a troublemaker who hasnʼt learned to take responsibility yet".
It turned out that other women living in these apartments were forced to “work” for Epstein, helping to build his human trafficking scheme and recruit other women. One of them sent Epstein photos of “cute” models she had just met in London. Epstein made it clear that he liked their looks, and the woman replied that she would check them out to see if they were suitable for him. It is not known whether any of these models were eventually introduced to Epstein.
Epstein regularly used Eurostar to ferry some of these women to and from the UK until his arrest by US authorities in July 2019. The number of tickets he bought for young women steadily increased in the final years of his life.
Journalists found that Epstein purchased at least 53 tickets to ferry women between France and England between 2011 and 2019, sometimes using Eurostar’s discounted “youth” fares for people under 25.
The BBC has learned that British police had other reasons to investigate Epsteinʼs activities, and not just Virginia Giuffreʼs claim that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew. In early 2020, another woman in Britain came forward with allegations of abuse by Epstein, but it is not known whether the police acted on them.
In addition, in 2020, shortly after Epsteinʼs death, authorities learned that he had rented at least one of the London apartments in question in the investigation.
Jeffrey Epsteinʼs case
American financier Jeffrey Epstein was first arrested in 2008. He was convicted of sex with minors and organizing prostitution. After 13 months in prison, the financier made a deal with prosecutors and was released. In 2019, he was charged with new charges of human trafficking.
At the time, it was reported that the FBI had discovered thousands of names of famous people in Epsteinʼs notebook, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, “Rolling Stones” frontman Mick Jagger, and billionaire Richard Branson. This sparked a series of accusations and suspicions against famous people that they may have used Epsteinʼs services.
Epstein was arrested a second time on July 7, and on August 10, 2019, he committed suicide in prison. In December 2023, a US court ordered the release of the names of more than 170 people from Epsteinʼs inner circle.
Donald Trump has also been accused of having ties to Epstein. Trump and Epstein were allegedly friends and attended the same parties in the 1990s. However, Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against journalists who covered this information.
On December 19, 2025, the US Department of Justice released the first selection of the “Epstein files”. Among the tens of thousands of documents that were censored are many photos of famous people. Less than a day after the publication, at least 16 files related to Epstein, including a photo with Trump, disappeared from the US Department of Justice website.
The US Department of Justice published a new set of documents on January 30, 2026. They found information that Microsoft founder Bill Gates was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection after communicating with "Russian girls," and Epstein helped him purchase medication.
In late February, former US President Bill Clinton, also mentioned in the files, testified before a congressional committee about his ties to Epstein. He said he “saw nothing” and “did nothing wrong”.
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