Norway investigates over $13m in state grants linked to Epstein and prime ministers.
Norway’s Parliament has launched an investigation into 11 present and former high-ranking ministers — together with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere — over alleged ties and grants linked to the late convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein.
US President Donald Trump’s Division of Justice in January launched millions of Epstein-related paperwork, revealing connections to politicians, royals and the ultra-rich all over the world.
Norway, dwelling of the Nobel Peace Prize and sometimes a fulcrum of worldwide diplomacy, has seen main fallout, triggering parliamentary inquiries and police investigations.
The general public listening to, which started on Wednesday, is available in gentle of experiences that the Overseas Ministry allotted over 130 million kroner ($13.5m) to the Worldwide Peace Institute between 1997 and 2018.
The United Nations-affiliated think-tank was led by Terje Rod-Larsen, a prominent Norwegian diplomat and chief architect of the 1993 Oslo Accords, from 2005 to 2020. Stoere, who has denied any wrongdoing, served as overseas minister from 2005 to 2012.
A central determine within the Center East peace talks within the Nineteen Nineties, Rod-Larsen was implicated within the information and Norwegian media investigations that uncovered an alleged relationship involving illicit loans and visa fraud for sex-trafficked girls. Epstein additionally left Rod-Larsen’s youngsters hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in his will.
The federal government should clarify what it’s doing to revive belief within the overseas service, stated Jonas Andersen Sayed, who chaired the listening to at Parliament’s Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs.
“There are a lot of individuals who have demonstrated very poor judgement,” Andersen Sayed advised the Reuters information company in reference to buddies of Epstein.
Whereas testifying, the prime minister maintained that he had by no means had any relationship with Epstein and stated the “issues” had been remoted lapses, not systemic to the Overseas Ministry.
“There isn’t a purpose to talk of an unhealthy tradition at a big organisation simply due to what one or a number of folks could have achieved,” Stoere advised the committee.
Stoere added that, to his data, Epstein wielded no affect over Norway’s overseas coverage, improvement assist or every other authorities selections.
Erik Solheim, a former improvement minister who will testify on Wednesday, has stated parliament’s probe is an overreaction that can throttle the overseas service as diplomats go for unnecessary self-restraint, harming the nationwide curiosity.
Although not showing earlier than Parliament, quite a lot of different distinguished Norwegians with ties to Epstein — together with former premier Thorbjoern Jagland, Roed-Larsen and his spouse, ex-diplomat Mona Juul — are beneath police investigation on corruption accusations.
All three have denied any wrongdoing.
“The Epstein paperwork increase critical questions on abuse of workplace, a tradition of accountability failures and poor administration of improvement assist funds,” stated Andersen Sayed.
“The problem issues public belief in your entire system. It’s important that every one the info are dropped at gentle, that accountability is established and that the required reforms are carried out,” he stated.
Parliament has additionally arrange an unbiased inquiry tasked with a wider examination of the case, which is because of submit its closing report by January 31, 2028.
