Dalai Lama Denies Ever Meeting Jeffrey Epstein

9 hours ago 6

February 8, 2026 | 08:01 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Dalai Lama has denied ever meeting the American sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein, despite his name being mentioned more than 100 times in the recent publication of Epstein's case documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice two weeks ago.

A search of the Epstein case documents accessed through the U.S. Department of Justice website showed 169 mentions related to the Dalai Lama.

According to reports, some emails associated with Epstein in October 2012 indicated that the sexual offender would attend an event on an island where the spiritual leader would likely be present as well.

However, there is as yet no evidence accusing the Dalai Lama of any criminal wrongdoing. It is only the high number of mentions of the spiritual leader in the documents that has sparked controversy surrounding him.

A statement from the leader of the Tibetan Buddhist community acknowledged the "media reports and social media posts concerning the 'Epstein files' are attempting to link Dalai Lama with Epstein."

"We can unequivocally confirm that His Holiness has never met Jeffrey Epstein or authorized any meeting or interaction with him by anyone on His Holiness’ behalf," the statement said on Sunday, February 8, 2026, as quoted by Anadolu, referring to the Dalai Lama.

Born as Tenzin Gyatzo, the 90-year-old Dalai Lama recently won a Grammy Award for his audiobook titled Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

The Tibetan Buddhist leader has repeatedly courted controversy, including an incident in 2023 where he was recorded instructing a young disciple to "suck my tongue," prompting public condemnation.

Tibet has been under Chinese control since 1951 in an operation referred to by Beijing as a "peaceful liberation."

Following the failure of the Tibetans' resistance against Chinese rule in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to Dharamshala in northern India, where he established an exile government and a Tibetan parliament.

Beijing does not recognize the exile government and insists that Tibet has been a part of China since the 13th century.

However, the Dalai Lama asserts that Tibet was an independent nation when the People's Liberation Army entered the region.

The U.S. Department of Justice has released more than 3 million pages of documents, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images related to Epstein, according to the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The publicly disclosed materials include photographs, grand jury transcripts, and investigative notes, although many pages are redacted.

Epstein was found dead by suicide in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors.

Read: Dalai Lama Mentioned 169 Times in Recent Epstein Files Releases

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