Epstein's UN Insider: Fabrice Aidan and the UN's Double Standard : Shared by Kul Gautam and Niloufar Pourzand

Epstein's UN Insider: Fabrice Aidan and the UN's Double Standard

Authors: Nadine Kaddoura (LinkedIn) and Ian Richards (LinkedIn)

Date: February 10, 2026

Click here for the Kaddoura article

Click here for the Richards commentary

Summary:

Epstein files reveal that Fabrice Aidan, a French diplomat with dual French-Israeli nationality who served as Special Assistant to UN Special Envoy Terje Rød-Larsen, used his official UN email to correspond with Jeffrey Epstein from 2010-2017. Aidan transmitted confidential Security Council briefings and Secretary-General readouts to Epstein, facilitated his attendance at elite diplomatic forums including the 2010 Sir Bani Yas Forum, and coordinated protocol for a 2011 dinner involving Sheikh Abdullah and Bill Gates.

Rød-Larsen introduced Aidan to Epstein in 2010. Norwegian media report Rød-Larsen received $250,000 from Epstein plus a $130,000 loan, while his children later inherited $10 million. Epstein spent $25,000 buying copies of a book Aidan co-wrote with Rød-Larsen.

In 2013, the FBI informed the UN it was investigating Aidan for possession of child pornography. Before the UN investigation concluded, France repatriated Aidan to a ministry desk job. No arrests were made. Despite this, Aidan had a successful government career with secondments to UNESCO, Rothschild Bank, and Engie (from which he was recently suspended). The French foreign minister has ordered an investigation.

The authors contrast this with the UN's disciplinary threats against staff speaking publicly about Gaza, questioning why Aidan's conduct proceeded without sanction while Palestinian solidarity faces punishment.

Quotes:

"What makes this file explosive is not merely what it reveals about Fabrice Aidan. It is what it reveals about the United Nations itself: an organization that has spent the past two years policing staff speech on Gaza with threats of disciplinary action, while a UN official spent nearly eight years using his official UN email account to correspond with Jeffrey Epstein." (Kaddoura)

"Discretion, it seems, is enforced only against those who speak about Palestine—not against those who leak the Organization's most sensitive material to sexual predators and child rapists." (Kaddoura)