Epstein Files: India Calls Claims About PM Modi’s Israel Visit Baseless

India's government rejected online claims that linked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to references in the Epstein files, stressing that the mention related only to Modi's official visit to Israel in 2017, and that every other suggestion in a circulated email, reportedly drawn from those files, had no factual basis.

The Ministry of External Affairs said on January 31 that authorities had noticed an email message, described as part of the Epstein files, which mentioned the Prime Minister's Israel trip. Officials confirmed that Narendra Modi travelled to Israel on an official visit in July 2017 but insisted that all extra hints in that email were false.

Epstein files disclosure and India's response

According to the ministry's statement, the email's further claims went far beyond the known facts of that trip. The spokesperson quoted the official position that "Beyond the fact of the Prime Minister's official visit to Israel in July 2017, the rest of the allusions in the email are little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal," and said such comments should be "dismissed with the utmost contempt."

The Indian statement appeared as documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein drew renewed attention worldwide. The so-called Epstein files formed part of a major release by the US Justice Department, which published a large set of records linked to the late financier and the legal cases that followed his earlier criminal charges.

US Justice Department release of Epstein files

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday that this disclosure closed the Trump administration's planned releases under a law that required all Epstein-related files to become public. Blanche explained that the latest material included over 3 million pages of papers, around 2,000 videos, and about 180,000 images.

Blanche noted that the scale of the Epstein files release was designed to support openness around the investigations into Epstein's criminal conduct. Officials said the reference to Narendra Modi inside these records concerned only the confirmed official visit to Israel in July 2017 and did not include any allegation beyond that fact.

Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019 and was found dead in custody a little over a month later. The fresh batch of Epstein files contained emails between investigators reviewing that death, including one message noting that Epstein's last written communication did not look like a suicide note, even though several inquiries later ruled the death a suicide.