The Kremlin said Thursday it would not waste time responding to what it called unproven speculation in Western media and by Poland’s prime minister that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein may have been linked to Russian intelligence.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that Warsaw would launch an investigation into what it said were possible links between Epstein and Russia's intelligence services, and into any potential impact on Poland.
Tusk gave no evidence for his assertions, though Western media have questioned over recent days whether or not Epstein was a Russian agent collecting compromising material about the rich and powerful.
Asked by Reuters about Tusk's remarks and about Western media reports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "I would like to joke about such versions, but let's not waste our time."
Russian officials say that claims of a link between Epstein and Russian intelligence are clearly being thrust into the public sphere to distract from a scandal they say has laid bare the hypocrisy of powerful men across the U.S. and Europe.
In the files on Epstein released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Russia is mentioned thousands of times.
They also indicate that some of the young women Epstein was in contact with were from Russia, including a 26-year-old woman he sought to introduce to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of Britain's King Charles.
Various media organizations and bloggers have also speculated that Epstein was spying for Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence service or the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
No definitive proof has yet been published by a major news organisation that he was working for any intelligence service.
