Ketamine, Prostitution and Money: Details of a Secret DEA Probe of Jeffrey Epstein [View all]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-03-06/epstein-investigated-in-dea-probe-for-ketamine-money-laundering

No paywall link
https://archive.is/20260306180027/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-03-06/epstein-investigated-in-dea-probe-for-ketamine-money-laundering

The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration opened an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and a dozen other individuals in 2015 that centered on allegations of money laundering, drug trafficking and the procurement of Eastern European prostitutes for high-profile clients, according to five people familiar with the case.

The investigation, which grew out of a longstanding probe into organized crime, was conducted by a secretive intelligence and law enforcement unit of the DEA and a transnational crime-fighting task force. It began after an informant told authorities that Epstein was involved in the illicit funding and distribution of so-called club drugs, including ecstasy, ketamine and methamphetamines, according to the people, who asked not to be named to discuss sensitive law enforcement matters.

The individuals named in a document related to the investigation, according to the people, included Epstein’s accountants, attorneys and European women who worked as his assistants or fashion models. The DEA investigation also named two businesses.

None of the individuals were charged with any offenses as a result of the investigation. It’s unclear how long the investigation remained open and what authorities ultimately learned from it because the complete case files have not been released. Yet descriptions of the DEA probe add to questions about what federal authorities knew about Epstein before they arrested him in 2019. By that time, he’d victimized more than 1,000 people, the US Department of Justice has said.

*snip*