Lithuania questions 20 people in Epstein investigation, prepares legal assistance request to US
Lithuania’s prosecutor general has confirmed that 20 individuals have been interviewed as part of an ongoing pre-trial investigation linked to documents from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, LRT reports.
General Prosecutor Nida Grunskienė stated on Thursday that authorities are actively gathering evidence and preparing a formal request for legal assistance to the United States. “The investigation is proceeding intensively. To date, around 20 people have been questioned,” she told Žinių Radijas. “No victims have yet been formally identified, but information is being collected, analysed, and prepared for submission in the legal assistance request to the US.”
A dedicated phone line (+370 604 68154) has been set up for potential victims or witnesses to provide information directly to investigators. “I urge anyone who has suffered or possesses relevant information not to hesitate and to call—this will help us thoroughly investigate the case,” Grunskienė emphasised.
The probe was launched in February after Lithuanian authorities reviewed Epstein’s newly released correspondence, which included over 1,200 references to Lithuania and 1,000 to Vilnius. Among the documents was a 2017 request to transfer €75,000 to a Lithuanian SEB bank account registered to Fors Projektai, a company then managed by event organiser Valdo Petreikis. Additional records showed payments of $18,490 to NPO Baleto Teatras and $10,000 to VSJ Baleto Teatras from Epstein’s Gratitude America MMD fund. Petreikis’s wife, Simona Petreikė, was also named in the files as a potential recipient of educational support and a $3 million inheritance following Epstein’s death.
The Panevėžys District Prosecutor’s Office is overseeing the investigation, conducted by the Panevėžys County Chief Police Commissariat. Epstein, convicted in 2008 for sexually abusing underage girls, died by suicide in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on further trafficking charges.