POLAND has formalised one of the most significant international responses yet to the January 2026 release of the Epstein files, establishing a dedicated criminal task force to probe whether Polish citizens were recruited as victims or perpetrators in the late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged trafficking network – even as the U.S. government signals it considers the matter largely resolved.
Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office announced the formation of “Investigation Team No. 5” on February 24, tasking three senior prosecutors experienced in organised crime and human trafficking with conducting preliminary inquiries into what authorities describe as “an organised criminal group of an international nature” operating between 2005 and 2018. The team is empowered to examine whether Polish nationals were involved, either as victims or as participants in the network.
The announcement followed weeks of public pressure after Polish media identified what officials have called “Polish threads” in the newly released American documents. Among the leads cited by Prime Minister Donald Tusk: references to individuals in Kraków who allegedly told Epstein they had a group of “women or girls” for him. “There are more such leads,” Tusk stated.
Tusk has framed the investigation in unambiguous moral terms. “We cannot allow that any of the cases involving abuse of Polish children by the network of pedophiles and the organiser of this satanic circle, Mr Epstein, be treated lightly,” he said.
The probe operates on two tracks. Separately, Poland’s Justice Ministry confirmed the creation of an inter-agency analytical task force chaired by Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek, drawing in representatives from the prosecution service, interior ministry, security services, and police. The ministry said it will request access to all classified materials from U.S. authorities to ensure a comprehensive review.
“It is our duty to provide a reliable and impartial explanation of all Polish aspects in the so-called Epstein affair,” Zurek said. “The Polish state must check whether crimes have taken place on the territory of the Republic of Poland and whether Polish citizens were involved in the case.”
A Widening International Gap
Poland’s move is part of a broader pattern emerging since the U.S. Justice Department released over three million pages of Epstein-related documents on January 30 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act – a disclosure that includes grand jury transcripts, investigative reports, flight logs, and contact lists, though many pages remain heavily redacted. Victims’ advocates have criticised the release as incomplete.
At least five countries have launched investigations since the January 30 document release, while the U.S. has declared its review complete. Latvia and Lithuania both announced investigations on the same day Poland formalised its probe. The UN Human Rights Council has also weighed in, stating the Epstein case bears “the marks of a crime against humanity” and warrants further investigation.
The contrast with Washington is stark. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declared the DOJ review “complete” and signalled no further prosecutions are expected — a position that has drawn bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill. Bipartisan lawmakers have accused the Justice Department of over-redacting the names of powerful figures and under-protecting victims.
The Russian Intelligence Dimension
Tusk has introduced a second, geopolitically charged layer to the Polish inquiry. He stated there are suspicions that Russian intelligence services may have co-organised Epstein’s operation, calling it a matter of significant national security importance for Poland, a frontline NATO state. The claim lands against a backdrop of documented Russian and Belarusian espionage, sabotage, and disinformation operations targeting Poland since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Tusk did not present specific evidence for the Russian intelligence theory, and analysts caution it remains speculative. While Putin’s name appears roughly 1,000 times in the released documents, the bulk of those references are news articles or financial commentary, not investigative records linking Russian services to Epstein’s network.
Still, the possibility that Epstein’s trove of compromising material on world leaders – including recorded footage of presidents, prime ministers, and chief executives – could have been weaponised for intelligence purposes has elevated what might otherwise be a criminal matter into a question of European security architecture.
What Comes Next
The current phase of Poland’s criminal inquiry remains preliminary. A decision to launch a full criminal investigation will depend on the evidence uncovered during initial fact-finding. Officials face potential time pressure: statutes of limitations for certain offences committed in the 2005–2018 period may be approaching, creating urgency to gather evidence and identify witnesses.
Tusk has also called on other countries to follow Poland’s lead and pursue an international investigation into the matter. Whether that call finds traction will likely depend on what Investigation Team No. 5 surfaces in its preliminary review — and whether the United States can be persuaded to share materials it has thus far kept under heavy redaction.
For now, the centre of gravity in the Epstein investigation has shifted overseas. The country conducting the most structured new criminal inquiry is not the one with jurisdiction over most of the evidence. That anomaly, more than any single document or lead, may define the Epstein case’s next chapter.
