Prince Andrew did not cooperate with FBI in Epstein probe: Source

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation approached the United Kingdom‘s Prince Andrew for an interview in connection with its investigation into the activities and death of American financier Jeffrey Epstein, a US law enforcement source told Reuters News Agency on Monday.

Manhattan-based US Attorney Geoffrey Berman publicly confirmed the approach to Prince Andrew at a meeting of a group that supports battered women, the source said. The source added that to date, prosecutors had received “zero cooperation” from the prince.

The FBI is investigating British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, and others who facilitated Epstein’s allegedly illegal behaviour, law enforcement sources told Reuters in December.

Maxwell has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.

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

US court papers have previously shown that Epstein had socialised with Prince Andrew and other high-profile figures, including US President 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 from at least 2002 to 2005. Prosecutors said he recruited girls to give him massages, which became sexual.

Epstein had pleaded not guilty.