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, with plans to submit a formal legal assistance request to US authorities.

Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė told Žinių Radijas on Thursday that the probe remains active, though no victims have yet been formally identified. “The investigation is intensive. Around 20 people have been questioned so far,” she stated, adding that collected information is still under analysis before the request for US legal cooperation is finalised.

A dedicated phone line (+370 604 68154) has been established for potential victims or witnesses. Grunskienė urged anyone with relevant information to contact investigators directly, emphasising that such cooperation would “make it easier to investigate this crime.”

The pre-trial investigation, launched in February, follows a review of Epstein’s released correspondence—where Lithuania is referenced over 1,200 times and Vilnius over 1,000 times. Documents include a 2017 request to transfer €75,000 to a Lithuanian-registered SEB bank account linked to event organiser Valdo Petreikis’ company, Fors Projektai. Additional records show two Lithuanian ballet organisations received payments totalling $28,490 from Epstein’s Gratitude America MMD foundation in 2018. Petreikis’ wife, Simona Petreikė, is also named in the files as a potential recipient of educational support and a $3 million inheritance following Epstein’s 2019 death.

Epstein, convicted in 2008 for sexually abusing minors, died by suicide in a US prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on human trafficking charges. The investigation in Lithuania is led by the Panevėžys County Chief Police Commissariat, with oversight from the Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor’s Office.