French police have been conducting searches at Paris' prestigious Arab World Institute (IMA) as part of an investigation into links between its former president Jack Lang and the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Lang, an 86-year-old former Socialist minister, resigned from his IMA post just over a week ago after his name was found nearly 700 times in the latest release of Epstein's personal files in the US.
Lang is being investigated in France for suspected "laundering of the proceeds of tax evasion". He denies any wrongdoing, describing the allegations as "baseless".
On Monday, he told IMA staff the investigation would clear his name. "I am totally serene because I have nothing to hide."
Inaugurated in 1987, the IMA is an important cultural centre dedicated to the Arab world, situated on the river Seine and mainly financed by the French foreign ministry.
