The Office of the Dalai Lama has firmly denied any connection between the Tibetan spiritual leader and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, following media reports suggesting his name appeared in documents released by the United States government.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Dalai Lama’s office said attempts were being made in some media reports and on social platforms to draw a misleading link between His Holiness and Epstein based on references in the recently released “Epstein files.”
“We can unequivocally confirm that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has never met Jeffrey Epstein, nor authorised any meeting or interaction with him by anyone on his behalf,” the statement said.
The clarification came after the U.S. Justice Department last month released a massive cache of material linked to the Epstein investigation, comprising millions of documents, photographs and videos.
An examination of the files shows that while the Dalai Lama’s name appears multiple times, there is no evidence of any meeting, communication, or direct interaction between him and Epstein.
Legal experts have also noted that the appearance of a person’s name in the files does not imply wrongdoing.
The controversy was triggered after China’s state-run broadcaster CGTN reported that the Dalai Lama’s name appeared repeatedly in the documents, citing an email in which an unidentified sender mentioned considering attending an event where the Dalai Lama was scheduled to appear.
However, the email does not indicate any contact, meeting, or interaction between the two.
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Independent reviews of the documents have similarly found no reference suggesting any personal connection between the Tibetan leader and Epstein.
The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has lived in exile in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
Based in Dharamsala, he continues to lead the Tibetan community-in-exile and advocate for greater autonomy for Tibetans — a position that has long drawn criticism from Beijing.
Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and later died by suicide in prison.
The latest release of U.S. documents has drawn several public figures into scrutiny worldwide, with some facing investigations, resignations and public questioning.
The Dalai Lama’s office said the latest claims were baseless and aimed at creating false associations, reiterating that there has never been any connection between the spiritual leader and Epstein.
As Report
Mentioned in the The Hindu
