'Never met' sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein, says Dalai Lama after being named 169 times in recently released file

The US Justice Department released fresh cache of Epstein files last month reigniting controversy related to popular personalities like President Donald Trump, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the world's richest man Elon Musk. The 3 million files consisting more than 2,000 videos and over 1,80,000 photos also named Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

According to reports, some emails linked to Epstein in October 2012 suggested that the sexual offender was to attend an event on an island where the spiritual leader was also likely to be present. However, there has been no evidence so far that allege criminal conduct by Dalai Lama. It is only the number of times the spiritual leader has been named in the file that has ignited the controversy around him.

Dalai Lama denies links

The claims of Dalai Lama having ever met Epstein has, however, been denied by him. A statement released on the spiritual leader's official X handle says 'His Holiness has never met Jeffrey Epstein".

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"Some recent media reports and social media posts concerning the “Epstein files” are attempting to link His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Jeffrey Epstein. We can unequivocally confirm that His Holiness has never met Jeffrey Epstein or authorised any meeting or interaction with him by anyone on His Holiness’s behalf," reads the statement.

Some other names to have come up in the latest Epstein files released by US Justice Department are: Larry Summers, Bill Richardson, Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Kevin Spacey, Diana Ross & Chris Tucker. Woody Allen, Richard Branson, Noam Chomsky, and Stephen Hawking have also been named in the list.