Newly Released Memo Shows Jeffrey Epstein Was Target of 2010 DEA Probe Over Suspicious Money Transfers

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A previously undisclosed 2010 Drug Enforcement Administration investigation named Jeffrey Epstein and 14 other individuals as targets of a federal probe into suspicious money transfers believed to be tied to illegal narcotics and prostitution. The 69-page memo, which remained heavily redacted, details approximately $50 million in suspicious wire transfers recorded between 2010 and 2015 across Epstein's bank accounts in Switzerland, France, the Cayman Islands, and New York.

Why it matters

The newly disclosed DEA investigation adds to the long record of federal agencies investigating Epstein across multiple jurisdictions without ever bringing charges that reflected the full scope of his alleged criminal conduct. This case highlights the complex web of investigations into Epstein's activities and the challenges in holding him fully accountable.

The details

The DEA memo was drafted in connection with a request to an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Fusion Center in Virginia, seeking information from other federal agencies. The document carries a DEA case number with an opening date of December 17, 2010 in New York and was listed as 'judicial pending' at the time the memo was drafted five years later, suggesting investigators may have been awaiting court approval for search warrants or other legal action. The document also references several other previously unknown investigations linked to Epstein, including probes by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI.

• The DEA investigation was opened on December 17, 2010.
• The 69-page memo was drafted in 2015.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The Justice Department has identified approximately 6 million potentially responsive pages related to Epstein, but members of Congress have pressed for answers on why the remainder was withheld.