Polish prosecutors open human trafficking probe tied to Epstein case

Polish prosecutors have opened an investigation into suspected human trafficking in Poland and other countries between 2009 and 2019 in connection with Polish threads in the Jeffrey Epstein case, the National Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday.

FILE PHOTO: Jeffrey Epstein, seen in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., U.S., on December 19, 2025 as part of a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender.U.S. Justice Department/Handout via REUTERS

The investigation was opened on March 10 by a prosecutor from Investigative Team No. 5 at the National Prosecutor’s Office, spokesperson Przemysław Nowak said in a statement.

The statement said reviewed documents pointed to a justified suspicion of human trafficking, including on Polish territory, involving the recruitment in Poland of “unidentified adult and minor females, including Polish citizens,” by misleading them about the real nature of work abroad and then organizing their transport out of the country for sexual exploitation.

Opening the investigation will allow prosecutors to carry out a full evidentiary proceeding, which was not possible at the preliminary checking stage, Nowak said. One of the first procedural steps will be requests to two European countries for information and evidence under a European Investigation Order.

“Victims can contact the team directly,” the statement said, providing an email address for Investigative Team No. 5.

The team was set up in late February alongside a government analytical group examining Polish threads in the case of the U.S. financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek heads the government team.

Nowak said on Wednesday that opening the trafficking investigation did not mean the team would deal only with that offense, and that prosecutors would examine “as broadly as possible” the activity of a criminal group linked to Epstein in connection with Polish threads.

“We will examine every thread where we have Polish jurisdiction,” Nowak told a news conference, saying that could include crimes committed in Poland, by Polish citizens abroad, or by foreigners abroad against Polish citizens.

He added that if any of those conditions were met, the investigation would also cover those areas. Human trafficking in Poland carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, the statement said.

(jh)

Source: PAP

Radio Poland