North Macedonia is mentioned in internal emails linked to the late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein that were released by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a broader disclosure of materials connected to federal investigations.
In one email, Epstein is briefed on scientific research into a potential drug aimed at suppressing suicidal impulses, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. The correspondence describes a long-running brain research programme that involved collecting and storing human brain samples, including samples originating from North Macedonia.
The email states that the research initially took place at the University of Pittsburgh and later, from 1994, at Columbia University, where scientists had assembled a collection of roughly 1,000 human brains. The samples included brains from individuals who had taken their own lives as well as control samples, and were preserved in ultra-low temperature freezers.
According to the email, North Macedonia contributed some of the most recent brain samples to the collection. The message attributes this to a Columbia University faculty member originally from the Balkan country who helped organise the transfers.
The document describes the process in detail, noting that the Macedonian samples were frozen immediately after removal and transported under supervision over a distance of about 4,700 miles to the United States. Once there, the samples were stored in small black containers labelled with QR codes and containing sliced tissue sections marked by hemisphere and date of collection.
The email, sent to Epstein by an individual whose name has been redacted, appears to be informational in nature. The context suggests it may have been part of a broader briefing connected to a possible investment in a company that would seek to commercialise the research findings. The material is combined with references to a Bloomberg publication, according to the document.
There is no indication in the email that Epstein was directly involved in the scientific work itself, nor that the research violated U.S. or international regulations. The document does not identify the Macedonian institutions or authorities involved in providing the samples.
Epstein, a wealthy financier with extensive political and business connections, was arrested in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges involving minors. He died later that year while in custody in New York. His death was ruled a suicide.