Jeffrey Epstein friend Ghislaine Maxwell arrested by FBI

2 July 2020, 15:18 | Updated: 2 July 2020, 15:19

Ghislaine Maxwell, a long-time friend and confidante of Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested by the FBI.

The FBI confirmed the 58-year-old was arrested at 8.30am local time in Bradford, New Hampshire, and will appear in court later today.

She has been charged with; Conspiracy to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts , Conspiracy to transport minors to engage in illegal sex acts, Transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sex acts and Perjury

Maxwell was a former girlfriend of Epstein, who killed himself in prison August 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking.

She has been accused of grooming teenage girls and procuring them to give Epstein massages, during which he would sexually abuse them.

Maxwell was described in a lawsuit by another Epstein victim, Sarah Ransome, as the "highest-ranking employee" of Epstein's alleged sex trafficking enterprise.

She oversaw and trained recruiters, developed recruiting plans and helped conceal the activity from law enforcement, the lawsuit alleged.

Maxwell has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and called some of the claims against her “absolute rubbish.”

Epstein was arrested in June of last year, and Maxwell has kept a low profile since.

The accusations have also reached the upper echelons of British society, with one of Epstein's alleged victims Virginia Roberts claiming Prince Andrew had sexual intercourse with her after she was trafficked to the UK.

Ms Roberts claimed it was Maxwell who introduced the two to one another.

Prince Andrew has denied the pair had a sexual relationship.