A modelling scout linked to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home.
Daniel Siad, 69, was discovered on Monday in Colombes, a north-west suburb of Paris, the Nanterre prosecutor's office confirmed.
An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening, the office said, adding that a post-mortem examination would be carried out.
Siad's name appeared thousands of times in the Epstein files released by the US government. He denied knowing of the threat Epstein had posed.
The Paris prosecutor's office has defended an investigation it launched in February, saying there had been insufficient evidence to justify arresting Siad.
"The investigation opened on 18 February 2026 covering charges of organised human trafficking and conspiracy to commit a crime is continuing in order to identify all individuals potentially involved despite the termination of criminal proceedings against Daniel Siad," the office said.
"Daniel Siad was subject to special investigative techniques, notably telephone surveillance, but they did not provide enough evidence justifying his immediate arrest," it added.
Siad had been the subject of several complaints in France including allegations of rape.
The dead man's lawyer stressed that Siad had "never been prosecuted". "He is dead and he was innocent," Ménya Arab-Tigrine said in a statement.
Epstein victim Anya - not her real name -previously told the BBC that Siad had introduced her to Epstein.
"It was a complete set-up," she said, describing Siad as "essentially a professional trafficker".
During one email to Epstein released in the files, Siad wrote in badly spelled English: "In This busyness I feel like fisherman some time I cache quick, some time no fish."
Ahead of a BBC investigation on the subject published on Saturday, Arab-Tigrine had said her client was not available for comment.
However, in a recent CNN interview, Siad said he had not known the women were being abused by Epstein. "I trusted him, I believed this guy is a professional person," he said.
The first complaints against Siad in France were filed in February. He denied wrongdoing in multiple recent media interviews, telling BFMTV in May: "I have never raped anyone in my life."
