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The chief Paris prosecutor has announced he is opening an investigation into the rape of minors and a raft of other charges linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

Prosecutor Remy Heitz said in a statement that the decision to open a preliminary investigation was based on elements transmitted "to his office" and “exchanges with American authorities.”

No further details were immediately provided but the investigation involves information regarding minors 15-years-old and older.

Disgraced billionaire Epstein, 66, died in US custody on August 10 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

He is thought to have committed suicide.

Epstein was facing a 45-year sentence if convicted of multiple counts of sexually abusing under-age girls.

The investigation was opened a day after it emerged Epstein put more than $577m (£476m) of his assets into a secret trust fund before his death.

Until his conviction for sex crimes in 2008, Epstein had contact with many people among the world’s financial, political and cultural elite.

In April 2005, police investigated Epstein after a parent complained he had molested her 14-year-old daughter.

Epstein pleaded guilty and was convicted by a Florida state court of soliciting a prostitute and of procuring an underage girl for prostitution on June 20, 2008.

He served almost 13 months in custody as part of a plea deal.

The conviction was controversial as he pleaded guilty in exchange for the justice department's agreement not to prosecute him on similar charges.

US federal officials identified 36 girls, some as young as 14, whom Epstein had molested.

The paedophile was arrested again on July 6, 2019, on federal charges for sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York.

More to follow