PARIS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Former French culture minister Jack Lang has offered to step down as president of the Arab World Institute (IMA) amid controversy linked to newly released documents related to the Epstein case, French media reported on Saturday.
According to France Info, Lang sent a letter on Saturday to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, proposing to tender his resignation at an upcoming extraordinary meeting of the institute's board of directors. He said the move was intended to "preserve" the institution in a climate marked by what he described as "personal attacks."
Citing sources at the foreign ministry, France Info said Barrot had "taken note" of Lang's decision and would initiate procedures to appoint an interim president.
The controversy follows the publication on Jan. 30 by the U.S. Department of Justice of more than 3 million additional pages of documents related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The materials indicate that Epstein had correspondence and financial links with Lang and his daughter, Caroline Lang, prompting criticism in French political circles.
Lang said on social media on Saturday that the accusations against him were "unfounded."
France's national financial prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation on Friday into Lang and his daughter on suspicion of aggravated tax fraud and money laundering.
Inaugurated in 1987, the Arab World Institute is an international cultural institution aimed at promoting cultural and academic exchanges between France and the Arab world. According to the French daily Le Monde, the institute maintains close ties with the French foreign ministry, which provides an annual subsidy accounting for about half of its budget. Lang has served as its president since 2013. ■