New Delhi: India on Friday firmly rejected any insinuation of wrongdoing after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name appeared in a reference contained in newly released records from the United States Department of Justice related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government had taken note of reports referring to an email cited in the so-called Epstein files that mentioned the Prime Minister in connection with his visit to Israel. He clarified that apart from the factual record of Prime Minister Modi’s official visit to Israel in July 2017, the remaining assertions in the email were entirely without substance.
Describing the reference in strong terms, the MEA said the remarks amounted to “trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal” and deserved to be “rejected with the utmost contempt.” The spokesperson underlined that no credence should be given to speculative or unverified claims drawn from such material.
Prime Minister Modi’s 2017 Israel visit was a landmark diplomatic moment, as it marked the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Israel since the two countries established full diplomatic relations in 1992. The trip is widely seen as a turning point in India–Israel ties, particularly in areas such as defense, agriculture, and technology.
The Indian government’s response came just hours after the US Justice Department made public a massive new set of documents from its investigative files on Epstein. The latest disclosure forms part of an ongoing process aimed at increasing transparency around what US authorities knew about Epstein’s activities, including his sexual abuse of underage girls and his interactions with prominent and powerful individuals.
According to US officials, the fresh release includes over three million pages of documents, along with more than 2,000 videos and around 180,000 images. Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the materials were being placed in the public domain as part of the latest phase of disclosures.
The documents, uploaded to the Justice Department’s website, reportedly contain records that were not included in an earlier release made in December. Officials said some of the material had previously been withheld and was now being made public under legal requirements.
The disclosures are being carried out under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation passed following sustained political and public pressure in the United States. The law mandates the release of government files not only related to Epstein but also concerning his longtime associate and former partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted for her role in facilitating his crimes.
Epstein, a wealthy financier with extensive social connections, died in a New York jail cell in August 2019, roughly a month after being charged with federal sex trafficking offences. His death was officially ruled a suicide, though it has continued to generate controversy and scrutiny.
Indian authorities stressed that attempts to draw unfounded inferences from the released material should be viewed with caution, reiterating that speculative references in criminal records do not alter established facts or official diplomatic engagements.