Two separate lawsuits have been filed against the French state for “inaction” and “slowness” in the French part of the Jeffrey Epstein case. One was filed by former Swedish model Ebba Karlsson, who accuses Epstein’s alleged recruiter of rape, and the other by the association Innocence en danger on behalf of potential victims of the American financier.
Daniel Siad, considered Epstein’s likely recruiter, was found dead at the end of July in his home in Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine). His death effectively halted the investigation into him, but the Paris prosecutor’s investigation into the French part of the Epstein case continues. “There was an opportunity to question him, but nothing was done for months,” Ebba Karlsson told BFM TV in mid-August.
Ebba Karlsson’s lawsuit and the prosecutor’s response
The lawsuit by Ebba Karlsson against the state, prepared by lawyers William Bourdon and Colombe Grossi, was filed with the Paris court and served on August 21. The first hearing is scheduled for 2027, according to AFP. The lawyers emphasize that Daniel Siad was not arrested or questioned, and they accuse the state justice system of “culpable inaction.” They ask the court to recognize the “improper functioning of the state justice service” and qualify it as “gross negligence,” as well as demand 50,000 euros in compensation for damages.
Earlier this year, Karlsson filed a complaint with the Paris police, claiming she recognized Daniel Siad in a photograph from Epstein’s files. She accused him of raping her in France in the 1990s. “We wonder why he was not arrested,” she said.
Daniel Siad, against whom several complaints had been filed, including for rape, was under investigation in Paris and had denied the accusations. His lawyer, Menia Arab-Tigrin, told AFP: “He was innocent.” Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said after Siad’s death that he was under surveillance as part of special investigative measures, including wiretapping, but the materials obtained at the time did not contain data that justified his immediate arrest.
Innocence en danger’s lawsuit and the course of the investigation
President of the association Innocence en danger Homayra Sellier and lawyer Jean Sanier told AFP that the organization is joining “Ebba Karlsson’s lawsuit aimed at making the French state provide explanations for its actions.” The association said it shares the “anger of all the victims of this horrific case.” In a separate lawsuit, served on July 31 by lawyer Mathias Darmanin, Innocence en danger also turned to the Paris court. The first hearing in this case is also scheduled for 2027. Lawyer Sanier accuses the justice system of “improper functioning,” “gross negligence,” and “denial of justice” during the handling of the French part of the Epstein case and demands 15,000 euros in compensation.
The association criticizes the “schedule, the slowness of which is objectively difficult to reconcile with the requirements of a criminal investigation of this nature.” Innocence en danger recalls that as early as July 2019, it had contacted the Paris prosecutor. The organization also emphasizes the “numerous connections with French territory” in this large-scale case, including Jeffrey Epstein’s regular trips to Paris and his connections with intermediaries, recruiters, and representatives of the modeling business in France. The association points to a “sequence of delays” and “lack of explanations for certain periods of obvious inaction” in the case.
Innocence en danger also expresses regret over the death of “several individuals who could have been of interest to the investigation.” Among them are Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and another alleged recruiter for Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in February 2022 while in custody, as well as the recently deceased Daniel Siad.
After the publication of millions of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, the Paris prosecutor announced at the beginning of 2026 the involvement of judges responsible for analyzing possible offenses involving French citizens, as well as conducting a “complete re-analysis of the investigation materials” regarding Brunel.
Source: Libération
