How the Latest Release of Epstein Files Was Felt Around the World

The Justice Department’s (DOJ) release of files related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein on Friday has revealed further details about his ties to powerful figures in the United States.

The new batch of some three million pages included never-before-seen communications between Epstein and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates, to name a few.

The presence of someone's name or communications in the files is not proof of wrongdoing.

Read more: Clintons Refuse Subpoena in Epstein Inquiry as Republicans Threaten Contempt Proceedings

But the files have also revealed Epstein’s global reach, causing shockwaves far beyond the United States.

From a resignation in Slovakia's government to the fall of a Labour Party Lord in the United Kingdom, here is how the latest batch of Epstein files is reverberating worldwide.

Peter Mandelson resigns from the House of Lords

Peter Mandelson, a Member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday after appearing in the most recent batch of Epstein files released on Friday.

Bank statements released in the pages suggest that Epstein made $75,000 in payments to accounts connected to Lord Mandelson. The alleged payments were separated into three $25,000 sums between 2003 and 2004.

The files also suggest that after his release from prison in 2009, Epstein sent thousands of dollars in bank transfers to Peter Mandelson’s then-partner Reinaldo Avila da Silva.  A spokesperson for Mandelson told Sky News: "Neither he nor his husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, has any record or recollection of receiving payments in 2003 or 2004 or know whether the documentation is authentic.”

“There are also multiple formatting errors in the documents and I would like JP Morgan to confirm on the record that they are certain these documents are authentic and that the individual cheques are also authentic,” Lord Mandelson told Sky News. 

"Until this fact checking has been achieved I maintain my original position which is that I have no record and no recollection of ever receiving these sums and that these statements are false," he continued.

The revelations continued for several days after their release. Mandelson came under further pressure when communications emerged that appear to show that Mandelson leaked a government memo to Epstein while he was business secretary in 2009. The memo, written by an advisor to then-prime minister Gordon Brown, proposed billions of dollars worth of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans. In June 2009, Mandelson apparently forwarded the memo to Epstein, with the attached comment, “Interesting note that's gone to the PM.”

Epstein replied: “What salable assets?”

“Land, property I guess,” Mandelson said.

Mandelson was fired as the U.K.’s ambassador to the United States in September after the country’s foreign office said that a previous release of emails showed that the extent of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.”

Starmer’s spokesperson told journalists Monday that he “believes that Peter Mandelson should not be a member of the House of Lords or use the title.”

“However, the prime minister does not have the power to remove it. He is calling on those in the Lords to work with the government to modernise disciplinary procedures in the house, to allow for the easier removal of Lords who have brought the house into disrepute.”

Former Royals in turmoil

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was stripped of his titles and evicted from his royal residence by Buckingham Palace in October 2025 after years of controversy over his well-known ties to Epstein. He is the subject of allegations from one of Epstein’s most vocal victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, who said in her posthumous memoir that she was forced to have sexual encounters with Andrew when she was a teen, which the British royal has repeatedly denied.

Mountbatten-Windsor is once again in the news as the newest batch of Epstein files show photographs of the former royal leaning over a woman or girl lying on the floor, whose face has been redacted. It is unclear where the photographs were taken, as no captions or comments accompanied them.

Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and has denied Giuffre’s accusations. 

The new files add further political pressure on the former royal to testify before Congress about his links to Epstein. The House Oversight Committee called on the former royal to travel to Washington for questioning.

"In terms of testifying, I have always said anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information," Starmer told reporters Friday. "Epstein's victims have to be the first priority."

Former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife, also appears in the files. The documents include communications between her and Epstein, including messages in which she called him the “brother I have always wished for.”

Bank account statements appear to show that Epstein wired $150,000 to Ferguson in 2001. A spokesperson for the former royal told the Financial Times that the payment was related to share options she had earned as an ambassador for the brand Weight Watchers.

“[Epstein] put the initial money to facilitate the transaction which was then repaid to him 48 hours later together with the profit on the transaction which was the 150k paid to her,” the spokesperson said.

“It was a big transaction and with share options, you have to pay for them before you can get the profit . . . it was the only time she has ever done any dealings with him,” they added.

Other documents appear to show Ferguson receiving thousands of dollars’ worth of flights from Epstein for herself and her daughters.

Multiple charities cut ties with Ferguson in September 2025 after a prior email release revealed the extent of Epstein's and Ferguson’s friendship.

A minister resigns in Slovakia

The national security adviser to Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has resigned in the wake of the latest document drop by the DOJ after his name was among those who allegedly corresponded with Epstein.

The text messages and emails appear to show a discussion between Miroslav Lajcak, a former Slovak foreign minister, and Epstein about movies, foreign affairs, and women.

In one series of text messages, a Lajcak appears to message Epstein: “Regards from Kiev! Just to confirm that girls here are as gorgeous as ever:)”.

Lajcak denied any wrongdoing and condemned Epstein's crimes in a statement, adding he was stepping down “Not because I did anything criminal or unethical,” but so that Fico "does not bear political costs for something unrelated to his decisions,” according to local Slovak media.

Prime Minister Fico announced Lajcak’s decision in a video statement on Facebook, praising him as “a great diplomat.” In light of calls from the opposition party for Lajcak to resign, Fico said that media coverage of the case has been “hypocritical.”`

India responds to email about Modi

One email between Epstein and a “Y. Jabor”, in which he discussed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with the U.S. and Israel, prompted a response from the Indian government on Saturday.  In the email, sent after Modi’s 2017 visit to Israel, Epstein said that the prime minister “danced and sang in Israel for the benefit of the US president.”

The Indian government denied Epstein’s characterization of the visit. “Beyond the fact of the Prime Minister’s official visit to Israel in July 2017, the rest of the allusions in the email are little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal, which deserve to be dismissed with the utmost contempt,” the statement said. 

Modi was the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel, and the trip was seen as a shift in relations between the two countries. Donald Trump was in his first term in office as president at the time.