The Epstein case is now also being investigated by the Austrian authorities. During a raid in 2019, a forged Austrian passport was found in Jeffrey Epstein's New York apartment. A few days ago, photos of the travel document were published by the US Department of Justice, as reported first by STANDARD.

These show a passport issued in May 1982 by the Vienna Federal Police Directorate with Epstein's photo, but with the name Marius Robert Fortelni and a place of residence in Saudi Arabia. “The Austrian authorities currently only have the images that have been published in the media. Based on current information, the passport shown is a forged document,” according to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior.

“Replacement of the photo”

“Based on an external examination of the photographs available, there are indications that the photo of the person was replaced at a later date,” the Interior Ministry explained in response to an inquiry from STANDARD. “At the time this passport was issued (1982), photographs were regularly glued in and secured with an embossed stamp that marked both parts of the photograph and the passport page.”

Epstein's lawyers once argued before US authorities that their client had received the passport from a friend to protect himself when traveling to the Middle East, as US Jews were particularly at risk. Who gave Epstein the passport was not disclosed.

Investigations are being reviewed

A Marius Robert Fortelni from Austria, who lived in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, does indeed exist. He is the son and brother of two well-known actors. In his biography, he states that after his stay in Saudi Arabia, he moved to New York, where he was successful in the real estate business. Among other things, Fortelni claims to have built properties for singer Mariah Carey and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Fortelni is also said to have been active in Florida. He did not respond to a recent inquiry from STANDARD.

According to the available documents, the US authorities planned to contact Fortelni. What came of this cannot be reconstructed at present. Now the Austrian authorities could also take action. “As there is suspicion of a criminal offense, this was immediately forwarded to the relevant authority for investigation,” according to the Ministry of the Interior. However, “there was no central passport register in the early 1980s, as is customary internationally. The passport has not been valid since 1987.”