Authorities in Norway are investigating former Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland on suspicion of corruption following revelations about his ties to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The probe comes after documents released by the United States Department of Justice last week revealed years of communications between Jagland, who served as Norway’s prime minister from 1996 to 1997, and Epstein, including emails suggesting that he stayed at the disgraced financier’s home.
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Okokrim, Norway’s dedicated police unit for fighting white-collar crime, said on Thursday that it had determined there were “reasonable grounds” to investigate Jagland for aggravated corruption.
The agency said it had also requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to revoke the immunity conferred on Jagland, who also served as the head of the Nobel Committee and secretary-general of the Council of Europe, as the former head of an international organisation.
“Among other things, Okokrim will investigate whether gifts, travel and loans were received in connection with his position,” Okokrim director Paal Loeseth said in a statement.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement that the facts of the case needed to be “brought to light”.
“That means Mr Jagland’s immunity cannot stand in the way of an investigation. I have therefore decided that Norway will put forward a proposal to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers that Jagland’s immunity be revoked,” Eide said.
Jagland’s lawyer, Anders Brosveet, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Local media quoted Brosveet as saying that his client welcomed the investigation and was “calm” about the outcome.
Norway has been rocked by revelations of close ties between a slew of prominent elites and Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit earlier this week expressed regret for “poor judgement” and extended sympathy for Epstein’s victims after the latest tranche of files showed that she had extensive contact with the disgraced financier.
On Thursday, the World Economic Forum (WEF), the organiser of the annual business summit in Davos, said it had launched an investigation to clarify the nature of the dealings its CEO, Borge Brende, had with Epstein.
The WEF said it had asked its risk committee to conduct the review in light of revelations that Brende, who served as Norway’s foreign minister from 2013 to 2017, had several business dinners with Epstein and communicated with him via email and text message.
“This decision underscores the Forum’s commitment to transparency and maintaining its integrity. Our aim is to handle this matter thoughtfully and efficiently,” the Geneva-based nongovernmental organisation said in a statement.
“Borge Brende fully supports, and cooperates with, this review, having indeed requested it himself, and will continue to fulfil his responsibilities as President and CEO without involvement in the review process.”
Brende said that he had limited contact with Epstein and that he had been unaware of his past or crimes.
“In 2018, during a visit to New York, I received an invitation from former Norwegian deputy prime minister and UN MENA envoy, Terje Rod-Larsen, who was married to the then Norwegian UN ambassador, to join him for dinner with someone who was presented to me as an American investor, Jeffrey Epstein,” Brende told Al Jazeera.
“This gathering included several other leaders. The following year, I attended two similar dinners with Epstein, alongside other diplomats and business leaders. These dinners, and a few mails and SMS messages, were the extent of my interactions with him,” he said.
Brende said he regretted not doing more to look into Epstein’s history.
“I remain committed to learning from this experience and welcome the upcoming independent review, which I indeed requested,” he said.
Brende also disputed comments made by WEF founder and former CEO Klaus Schwab to Swiss newspaper Blick in which he said he had not been informed of the contact with Epstein.
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