Prince Andrew has not responded to interview requests from the F.B.I. regarding dead financier Jeffrey Epstein, the United States attorney in Manhattan said Monday.
U.S. attorney Geoffrey S. Berman told reporters that Prince Andrew has been uncooperative with the agency. This is despite the British royal saying in 2019 that he would be “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”
Prince Andrew has come under scrutiny for his friendship with alleged child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The two met in 1999 and their friendship continued even after Epstein pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution in 2008.
The multimillionaire was arrested again in 2019 on child sex trafficking charges and died of an apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail in August.
Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre previously said Prince Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and that she was trafficked to him by Epstein. The prince has denied this accusation and was part of a disastrous interview with BBC in November about his friendship with Epstein.
The Duke of York stepped down from royal duties following backlash from the BBC interview in November. His former friendship with Epstein has been a “major distraction” to the Royal Family, a previous statement read. (RELATED: Prince Andrew Says He Was ‘Too Honorable’ To Decline A Stay At Epstein’s House. The British Public Isn’t Buying It)