Thorbjørn Jagland, in Oslo on March 3, 2015. AP/TERJE PEDERSEN
Norway's police said on Thursday, February 5, that it had opened an "aggravated corruption" investigation into former Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The country's foreign minister also said he would ask that Jagland's immunity as a former head of an international organization be lifted to facilitate the investigation.
Jagland was prime minister of Norway from 1996 to 1997 and secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. Between January 2009 and March 2015, he also chaired the committee that selects the Nobel Peace Prize winner. The police "have opened an investigation into (...) Thorbjorn Jagland, on suspicion of aggravated corruption," said the Norwegian police's economic crime unit, Okokrim, in a statement.
"We consider there are reasonable grounds for investigation, given that he held the positions of chair of the Nobel Committee and Secretary General of the Council of Europe during the period covered by the released documents," Okokrim director Pal K. Lonseth said in the statement. "Among other things, Okokrim will investigate whether gifts, travel and loans were received in connection with his position," the statement added.
