Britain's Prince Andrew has provided "zero co-operation" to the FBI investigation into the activities and death of Jeffrey Epstein, a USlaw enforcement source has said.

The FBI requested an interview with Prince Andrew, who socialised with Epstein, Manhattan-based USAttorney Geoffrey Berman publicly confirmed at a meeting, the source said, but did not say when ther equest was made.

Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe is focusing on British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, and others who facilitated wealthy financier's alleged trafficking of underage girls, law enforcement sources told Reuters in December.

Ms Maxwell has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.

Prince Andrew said in November he would be willing to help "any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required."

UScourt papers have previously shown that Epstein had socialised with Andrew and other high-profile figures including USPresident Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton.

Epstein's suicide in August, at age 66, came a little over a month after he was arrested and charged with trafficking dozens of underage girls as young as 14 from at least 2002 to 2005.

Prosecutors said he recruited girls to give him massages, which became sexual in nature. Epstein had pleaded not guilty.

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state charge of soliciting prostitution. He completed a 13-month jail sentence that was widely criticised as too lenient.

Prince Andrew has described his association with Epstein as "ill-judged" and in November the prince stepped down from public duties as the allegations became a distraction for the royal family.

Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's second son, has denied an allegation in a civil lawsuit from Virginia Giuffre, who claims she had sex with the prince when she was 17 in an encounter arranged through Epstein.

Ms Giuffre's lawsuit said Ms Maxwell recruited her into Epstein's circle and Epstein forced her to have sex with him and friends including Prince Andrew.

Despite Epstein's death, investigations continue into potential accomplices.

In December, sources told Reuters, law enforcement did not plan at that time to interview Prince Andrew, although the investigation was said to be at an early stage.

The FBI has been following up on leads received from women who contacted a hotline the agency set up at its New York field office in the wake of Epstein's arrest in July, the sources said in December.

This month, the attorney general of the USVirgin Islands sued Epstein's estate claiming he raped and trafficked dozens of young women and girls on a private island he owned in the territory.

The complaint filed by Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George significantly broadened the scope of the financier's alleged misconduct, saying it spanned from 2001 to 2018 and targeted girls who appeared to be as young as 11 or 12.

The Virgin Islands is seeking civil penalties plus some assets from Epstein's estimated $577.7 million estate, including the forfeiture of his two private islands, Little StJames and Great StJames.

Read the original here:

Prince Andrew accused of not co-operating with probe - RTE.ie