Norway launches probe into 11 senior officials over US Epstein files links

Norway investigates over $13m in state grants linked to Epstein and top ministers.

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere is pictured during a parliamentary committee public hearing on the Foreign Ministry and Jeffrey Epstein's network in Oslo, Norway, September 30 [AFP]

Norway’s Parliament has launched an investigation into 11 current and former high-ranking ministers — including Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere — over alleged ties and grants linked to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

US President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice in January released millions of Epstein-related documents, revealing connections to politicians, royals and the ultra-rich around the world.

Norway, home of the Nobel Peace Prize and often a fulcrum of international diplomacy, has seen major fallout, triggering parliamentary inquiries and police investigations.

The public hearing, which began on Wednesday, comes in light of reports that the Foreign Ministry allocated over 130 million kroner ($13.5m) to the International 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 foreign minister from 2005 to 2012.

A central figure in the Middle East peace talks in the 1990s, Rod-Larsen was implicated in the files and Norwegian media investigations that exposed an alleged relationship involving illicit loans and visa fraud for sex-trafficked women. Epstein also left Rod-Larsen’s children millions of dollars in his will.

The government must explain what it is doing to restore trust in the foreign service, said Jonas Andersen Sayed, who chaired the hearing at Parliament’s Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs.

“There are many people who have demonstrated very poor judgement,” Andersen Sayed told the Reuters news agency in reference to friends of Epstein.

While testifying, the prime minister maintained that he had never had any relationship with Epstein and said the “problems” were isolated lapses, not systemic to the Foreign Ministry.

“There is no reason to speak of an unhealthy culture at a large organisation just because of what one or several people may have done,” Stoere told the committee.

Stoere added that, to his knowledge, Epstein wielded no influence over Norway’s foreign policy, development aid or any other government decisions.

Erik Solheim, a former development minister who will testify on Wednesday, has said parliament’s probe is an overreaction that will throttle the foreign service as diplomats opt for needless self-restraint, harming the national interest.

Though not appearing before Parliament, a number of other prominent Norwegians with ties to Epstein — including former premier Thorbjoern Jagland, Roed-Larsen and his wife, ex-diplomat Mona Juul — are under police investigation on corruption accusations.

All three have denied any wrongdoing.

“The Epstein documents raise serious questions about abuse of office, a culture of accountability failures and poor management of development aid funds,” said Andersen Sayed.

“The issue concerns public trust in the entire system. It is essential that all the facts are brought to light, that accountability is established and that the necessary reforms are implemented,” he said.

Parliament has also set up an independent inquiry tasked with a much broader examination of the case, which is due to submit its final report by January 31, 2028.

挪威正在调查与爱泼斯坦和高级部长有关的超过 1300 万美元的国家拨款。

挪威首相约纳斯·加尔·施托雷于9月30日在挪威奥斯陆出席议会委员会关于外交部和杰弗里·爱泼斯坦关系网的公开听证会。[法新社]

挪威议会已对包括首相乔纳斯·加尔·施托雷在内的 11 位现任和前任高级部长展开调查，原因是他们涉嫌与已故性犯罪者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦有联系并接受其资助。

今年1月，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普领导的司法部公布了数百万份与爱泼斯坦有关的文件，揭露了爱泼斯坦与世界各地的政界人士、皇室成员和超级富豪之间的联系。

挪威是诺贝尔和平奖的发源地，也是国际外交的枢纽，此次事件造成了重大影响，引发了议会调查和警方调查。

此次公开听证会于周三开始，起因是外交部在 1997 年至 2018 年间向国际和平研究所拨款超过 1.3 亿克朗（1350 万美元）。

联合国附属智库由挪威著名外交官、1993 年《奥斯陆协议》的主要缔造者特耶·罗德-拉森领导，任期从 2005 年到 2020 年。斯托尔否认有任何不当行为，他于 2005 年至 2012 年担任外交大臣。

罗德-拉森是上世纪90年代中东和平谈判的核心人物，他卷入了一系列文件和挪威媒体的调查，这些调查揭露了他涉嫌为性交易妇女提供非法贷款和签证欺诈的丑闻。此外，爱泼斯坦还在遗嘱中给罗德-拉森的孩子们留下了数百万美元。

议会审查和宪法事务委员会听证会主席乔纳斯·安德森·赛义德表示，政府必须解释它正在采取哪些措施来恢复公众对外交部门的信任。

安德森·赛义德在接受路透社采访时表示：“许多人的判断力都非常差”，他指的是爱泼斯坦的朋友们。

在作证时，首相坚称他从未与爱泼斯坦有过任何关系，并表示这些“问题”只是个别失误，并非外交部的系统性问题。

“仅仅因为一两个人做了某些事，就断言一个大型组织存在不健康的文化，这是没有道理的，”斯托尔告诉委员会。

斯托尔补充说，据他所知，爱泼斯坦对挪威的外交政策、发展援助或任何其他政府决定都没有施加任何影响。

前发展部长埃里克·索尔海姆将于周三作证，他表示，议会的调查是反应过度，会扼杀外交部门，因为外交官们会选择不必要的自我约束，损害国家利益。

虽然没有出席议会听证会，但与爱泼斯坦有联系的其他一些挪威知名人士——包括前首相托比约恩·亚格兰、罗德-拉森和他的妻子、前外交官莫娜·尤尔——正因腐败指控接受警方调查。

三人均否认有任何不当行为。

安德森·赛义德表示：“爱泼斯坦的文件引发了人们对滥用职权、问责文化缺失以及发展援助资金管理不善的严重质疑。”

“这个问题关乎公众对整个体系的信任。至关重要的是，所有事实都必须公之于众，必须建立问责机制，必须实施必要的改革，”他说道。

议会还成立了一个独立调查组，负责对该案件进行更广泛的调查，该调查组将于 2028 年 1 月 31 日前提交最终报告。