Parliamentary inquiry targets $13 million in state grants connected to Jeffrey Epstein and senior ministers.
The Norwegian Parliament has initiated a formal investigation into eleven current and former high-ranking government ministers, including Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, regarding alleged financial grants and connections tied to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The probe follows the release of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents by the US Department of Justice earlier this year, which exposed extensive global connections between the financier and politicians, royals, and wealthy elites.
As the home of the Nobel Peace Prize and a key hub for international diplomacy, Norway has faced significant political fallout from these disclosures, prompting both parliamentary and police-level investigations.
The public hearings, which commenced this Wednesday, focus on allegations that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocated more than 130 million kroner (approximately $13.5 million) in state funds to the International Peace Institute between 1997 and 2018.
The UN-affiliated think tank was led during that period by Terje Rod-Larsen, a prominent diplomat and key architect of the 1993 Oslo Accords, who headed the organization from 2005 to 2020. During part of this timeframe, Jonas Gahr Stoere served as Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, a role he held from 2005 to 2012. Stoere has vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
Rod-Larsen, a central figure in the 1990s Middle East peace talks, was heavily implicated in the released files and Norwegian media investigations. The investigations allege relationships involving illicit loans and visa fraud for sex-trafficked women, alongside revelations that Epstein left millions of dollars to Rod-Larsen’s children in his will.
Jonas Andersen Sayed, who chaired the hearing as head of the Parliament’s Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs, stated that the government must outline its plan to restore public trust in the foreign service.
“There are many individuals who have demonstrated profoundly poor judgment,” Andersen Sayed remarked to the Reuters news agency, referencing the circle of Epstein associates.
During his testimony, Prime Minister Stoere maintained that he had never had any relationship with Epstein, characterizing the emerging issues as isolated lapses of judgment rather than systemic failures within the Foreign Ministry.
“There is no basis for claiming an unhealthy organizational culture within a large institution solely based on the actions of a few individuals,” Stoere argued before the committee.
He further asserted that, to his knowledge, Epstein exercised no influence over Norwegian foreign policy, development aid allocations, or other key government decisions.
Erik Solheim, a former minister of development who is scheduled to testify, argued that the parliamentary probe represents an overreaction. He warned that excessive scrutiny could paralyze the foreign service, leading diplomats to adopt unnecessary self-restraint at the expense of the national interest.
While not appearing before the parliament, several other prominent Norwegians with documented ties to Epstein are facing police investigations on corruption charges. This group includes former Prime Minister Thorbjoern Jagland, Terje Rod-Larsen, and Rod-Larsen’s wife, former diplomat Mona Juul.
All three individuals have denied any wrongdoing.
“The Epstein documents raise serious concerns regarding the abuse of office, a culture of accountability failures, and the mismanagement of development aid funds,” Andersen Sayed emphasized.
“This issue goes to the heart of public trust in our institutional systems. It is vital that all facts are brought to light, accountability is enforced, and necessary systemic reforms are implemented,” he added.
In addition to the current hearings, Parliament has established an independent inquiry to conduct a broader examination of the case, with a mandate to submit its final report by January 31, 2028.
