Dharamshala, February 8: The Dalai Lama's office on Sunday dismissed reports circulating on social media that attempted to link the Tibetan spiritual leader with late financier and convicted sex offender from the United States, Jeffrey Epstein.
"We can unequivocally confirm that His Holiness has never met Jeffrey Epstein or authorised any meeting or interaction with him by anyone on His Holiness's behalf," said a press statement by the Dalai Lama's office in Dharamsala.
A press statement was released stating that His Holiness has never met Jeffrey Epstein nor approved any meeting or interaction with him.
In a post on X, the Dalai Lama's office shared a statement that read, "Some recent media reports and social media posts concerning 'Epstein files' are attempting to link His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Jeffrey Epstein."
Earlier on January 31, the US Department of Justice released a major batch of investigative material linked to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, making public more than three million pages of records along with over 2,000 videos and around 180,000 images.
Announcing the disclosures at a news conference, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the release fulfils a transparency mandate passed by Congress last year. He said it "marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act."
The Justice Department had initially missed a December 19 congressional deadline to publish the full cache. The disclosures stem from the Epstein Files Transparency Act, adopted with bipartisan backing in November to compel the release of all federal records tied to Epstein, Al Jazeera reported.
In response to the legislation, officials assigned hundreds of lawyers to review the files to determine what required redaction in order to protect victims' identities. Blanche said materials that could compromise ongoing investigations or expose potential victims were withheld.
The latest materials also contain images showing figures such as Bill Gates, Steve Bannon, Woody Allen and former US President Bill Clinton socialising with Epstein, sometimes on his private island. None of those depicted have been charged in connection with the case.
The Epstein Files is a set of documents containing the names, photographs, letters and other dealings related to Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with the offence of sex trafficking of minors.
Epstein died by apparent suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges. He had earlier served 13 months in custody in Florida following a controversial plea deal in 2008. (ANI)
