Among the 3.5 million documents related to New York financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associates so far released by the U.S. Department of Justice are around 200 references to Estonia, including one to an unnamed prime minister.

Twelve Social Democratic (SDE) Riigikogu MPs noted in an address to Interior Minister Igor Taro (Eesti 200) that names of public figures from various countries have appeared in the Epstein materials made public in recent months. This has prompted several countries, including both Latvia and Lithuania, to launch additional investigations to clarify possible links, crimes, and security risks.

The MPs observed that Estonia is mentioned in the files as a country where Epstein, as a predator, may have obtained victims, a situation being investigated by Latvia.

Arnold Sinisalu, former director general of the Internal Security Service (ISS, known in Estonian by the acronym KaPo), has also pointed to the need to examine whether there may be individuals in Estonia who may potentially be subject to blackmail due to being mentioned in the files.

This in turn could pose a threat to national security and democratic institutions.
"Given the extreme severity of the issue, the public interest, and the potential security implications, it is important that we address this matter transparently, systematically, and decisively. We consider it essential that the Estonian state demonstrate a clear political will to protect human rights, victims, and national security," the inquiry stated.

SDE asked the interior minister to answer whether, and to what extent, the ISS and the Prosecutor's Office are reviewing the published Epstein files.

"Have Estonian authorities thus far identified any possible network, individuals or other connections indicating Estonia's involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's activities, the possible recruitment of victims or other criminal activity?" the SDE communique asked. They also inquired whether the published materials have revealed circumstances which would provide grounds for initiating criminal proceedings in Estonia or for requesting international legal assistance, and what steps have been taken so far.

The MPs inquired whether Estonia has approached the U.S., whose FBI released the files, or any other states, to obtain additional information regarding data published in the Epstein files which may concern Estonia. If Estonia has not done so, the SDE MPs asked why this was so, and whether a step like that was under consideration.

The MPs said they want to know what further steps the government considers necessary to assess and mitigate possible security risks, including potential vulnerability to blackmail, human trafficking, or the existence of influence networks in Estonia.

Last week, Latvian authorities announced that they had launched criminal proceedings based on the Epstein documents to investigate possible human trafficking involving Latvian citizens. The released files included, among other things, objectifying references to Latvian modeling agencies and models who worked there, and emails containing comments referencing Riga and nearby Jurmala.

Lithuania has also launched an investigation into possible human trafficking, as the Epstein files similarly contained references to Lithuanian models and other public figures.

Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell in August 2019, with authorities recording a cause of death as suicide by hanging. According to some media reports, one of his victims was nine years of age. He also reportedly had ties to Russia.

Epstein's sometime girlfriend and close associate Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was the daughter of U.K. media mogul Robert Maxwell, is currently incarcerated in 2022 after a U.S. court sentenced her to a 20-year term.

Numerous other high-profile figures have been linked, including through photographic evidence, to Epstein and Maxwell in the years since the case first came to light, including members of the British royal family, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and sitting U.S. President Donald Trump.

With Trump's return to office just over a year ago, his administration faced strong pressure to release all documents related to the Epstein case. Critics have said the wholesale release of millions of documents, including redacted emails, for public dissemination by anybody who wants to disseminate the documents, compared with the more focused release such as that seen with the WikiLeaks documents, raises ethical questions.

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