March 25, 2026, 12:19 p.mMarch 25, 2026, 12:19 p.m
The French authorities raided the Paris offices of the Edmond de Rothschild bank last Friday. The reason was an investigation against the diplomat and former Rothschild employee Fabrice Aidan, who was in a relationship with the US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the French news agency AFP reports.
Fabrice Aidan.Image: keystone
The search was carried out in the presence of Director General Ariane de Rothschild, writes AFP, citing sources close to the case. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (Parquet National Financier PFF) is investigating Aidan on allegations of bribing a foreign official. Edmond de Rothschild told AFP that the bank was “cooperating fully with the judiciary.”
Former diplomat Fabrice Aidan is apparently mentioned more than 200 times in the Epstein files released by US authorities. He worked at Edmond de Rothschild from 2014 to 2016 before moving to the energy group Engie, where his employment relationship ended in mid-March 2026.
Aidan’s first contacts with Epstein apparently date back to 2010, when Aidan was serving as the French representative to the United Nations in New York. Among other things, he is said to have passed on confidential UN documents and reports to the convicted sex offender.
Due to the revelations of the Epstein files, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called in the judiciary in February 2026 and initiated a disciplinary investigation.
The Geneva bank Edmond de Rothschild hit the headlines in February because of bank boss Ariane de Rothschild’s contacts with Epstein. Epstein had received various consulting assignments from the Geneva financial institution, particularly as part of the US Department of Justice’s proceedings against Swiss banks in the 2010s. (hkl/sda/awp/afp)