A New York judge began to unseal Wednesday the identities of people linked in court documents to Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier who killed himself in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes.

The initial tranche includes 40 previously undisclosed documents with almost 1,000 pages of depositions and statements, with the final library of documents expected to name prominent individuals.

Those named will include a host of Epstein associates previously identified as John or Jane Does in a lawsuit brought against Epstein's former mistress, Ghislaine Maxwell. It carries no allegation of complicity in Epstein's crimes.

Prominent figures are expected to be named, alongside individuals who have previously discussed their associations with Epstein in media interviews which were linked to in the order requiring the disclosure of their names.

The disclosure is part of a defamation proceeding between Epstein's former mistress, Ghislaine Maxwell, sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison, and a plaintiff against the duo, Virginia Giuffre.

Last month a judge listed in a 50-page document some 180 cases — under pseudonyms — ordering that their identities be made public within 14 days of the order, the first days of January.

Some individuals have objected to the disclosure of their identities in the case.

Lawyers for one individual, "Doe 107", wrote to the judge in the case arguing they could face victimization in her home country and requested time to submit grounds for their name to remain sealed.

According to British media, Giuffre's defamation claim against Maxwell, 62, dates back to 2016 and was settled the following year. But the Miami Herald then took legal action to access the file and investigate the Epstein network.