BRUSSELS — Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein kept a network of contacts in Brussels over the course of a decade, corresponding with powerful people and with modeling agencies about women, documents show.

The latest tranche of files released by the U.S. Department of Justice indicate the late American financier planned several trips to the Belgian capital, where many of the EU’s most important offices are based, and had contact with people in the city between 2010 and 2019. None of his meetings were publicly disclosed, but the emails lay out a series of potential visits by him and alleged intermediaries.

Epstein, who prosecutors allege “created a vast network of underage victims for him to sexually exploit,” had repeated correspondence about women in Europe.

A 2010 email chain sent to Epstein includes a description of a woman identified as “Kelly C.” provided by a Brussels-based “models agency” called Casting Factory. Kelly’s body measurements are provided along with an attestation she had a “very nice temper.” POLITICO was unable to reach Casting Factory, which no longer has a functioning website. A visit to  the address associated with it in the exchange of messages, in Brussels city center near Avenue Louise, revealed a building that now appears empty.

Included in the exchange is a representative identified as being from MC2 Model Management — an agency co-founded by Epstein’s long-time associate Jean-Luc Brunel. Brunel was found hanged in his Paris prison cell in 2022 where he was being held on suspicion of raping minors and trafficking children for the purpose of sex.

MC2 is now defunct and could not be reached for comment.

Also in 2010, Epstein received a message from a redacted address informing him that the sender was “getting ready for tmrw flight)” and “will send you my new number from Brussels!” A single bracket is frequently used as a text shorthand for a smiley face in Eastern Europe.

Another message to Epstein, also from a redacted address, simply reads “miss you))))) bisous from Brussels.” Bisous means kisses in French.

In another exchange, an unknown sender reported to Epstein they had held a video call with a woman who appeared “pretty nice,” even if they “couldn’t see her face very well.” The woman, who was said to be “waiting for the visa”, was described as having previously been “a booker for a modeling agency (might have other candidates?) I think she will do well after our conversation.”

The sender then asked to fly to the Belgian capital. Epstein replied: “Yes to Brussels trip.”

A year on, in 2011, Epstein got an email from his assistant notifying him that “Jean Luc called to say hi and let you know that he is leaving tonight [for] Brussels.” No further identifying details for the caller were given in the email.

One purported visit by Epstein to Brussels was scheduled for only a few hours. According to a booking note sent by an assistant to Epstein, in January 2019 he intended to travel by train from Paris alongside unnamed French and Ukrainian companions, arriving at Brussels’ Gare du Midi around 5 p.m. and departing again just after 8 p.m. The purpose of the trip is unclear.

Belgian rendez-vous

Epstein received a series of restaurant recommendations for the Belgian capital.

One redacted contact told Epstein that Belga Queen, an elegant converted bank in the historic center, was one of the “best” in Brussels.

In 2019, when Slovakia’s then-foreign minister, Miroslav Lajčák, wanted to meet with the disgraced American financier, he said he’d booked a table at La Brasserie des Étangs Mellaerts, an upscale eatery in the leafy Brussels suburb of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. The restaurant declined to confirm to POLITICO whether the booking was made.

Lajčák resigned from his latest post as national security adviser to the Slovak prime minister on Saturday after the documents showed he kept up close relations with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a minor. Lajčák said he did nothing wrong and feels like a “fool” for maintaining contact.

“My favourite restaurant was L’Idiot Du Village,” Peter Mandelson, a former British government minister and European commissioner from 2004-2008 ― and a regular contact of Epstein’s ― told a redacted contact who asked for suggestions after Epstein said Mandelson knew the city well. The now-closed bistro was secreted away down a cobblestone alley in the neighborhood of Marolles and prized for its seafood dishes.

Mandelson will retire from public office, he said on Tuesday. The U.K. police and European Commission are investigating whether he broke the law when he gave Epstein advance notice in 2010 of a planned €500 billion bailout during the Greek debt crisis.

Epstein — who had a reported personal fortune of $440 million at the time of his death and commercial interests across financial markets — repeatedly commented on EU policy in the emails.

In 2018, Epstein traded emails with Steve Bannon, a former top aide to U.S. President Donald Trump who had left the White House the year prior, about Commission plans to revisit regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies designed to prevent their use in illegal activities.

“We need to stop this dead in it’s tracks,” Bannon wrote, with Epstein replying “EU regs. battle lines being drawn … ping me when your italians are finished with you.” It’s not clear which Italians he was referring to.

One document shows an account belonging to a cybersecurity researcher inviting Epstein to feed into a policy talk.

“Jeffrey, I’m giving a 15min speech at the EU parliament next week on the regulation of intrusion/surveillance software,” the email reads. It was sent in 2015, as the EU firmed up preparatory work on landmark data protection rules passed the following year. “Attached my notes for the talk, if you have time to go through them and have some feedback that would be great. I think you’d be a good example of the target audience. Thank you!”

Inclusion in the released documents does not automatically imply wrongdoing and the researcher, through his lawyer, declined to comment.

On Monday, Belgium’s Prince Laurent — the brother of the country’s king — issued a statement confirming he met Epstein twice, after his name was included in the tycoon’s now-released address book. Laurent maintains he did nothing untoward and insisted he was speaking out to put an end to “rumors” around his involvement.