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Norwegian police said on Thursday, February 12th, they had searched properties belonging to former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland following the launch of a corruption probe over his dealings with U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Jagland is being investigated after documents released by the U.S. Justice Department in January suggested that he and/or his family stayed or vacationed with Epstein between 2011 and 2018.
Having served as prime minister from 1996 to 1997, Jagland was at that time secretary general of the Council of Europe and chaired until 2015 the committee that selects the winner of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. In the documents released, Epstein referred to him as “the Nobel big shot.”
Pål Lønseth, chief of the specialised Økokrim economic crimes unit, said that Jagland’s residence in Oslo had been searched and that he was now formally suspected of “aggravated corruption.”Council
Images shown on Norwegian TV showed several people at Jagland’s Oslo apartment carrying boxes. He was filmed smiling as he left the premises with his lawyer.
The searches were made possible by the lifting of his immunity on February 11th by the Council of Europe, Lønseth explained.
In a separate statement, Jagland’s lawyer, Anders Brosveet, said the searches were expected and standard procedure in these types of investigations.
“Jagland wishes to contribute to ensuring that the case is thoroughly clarified, and the next step is that he will appear for questioning by Økokrim—as he himself has stated he wants,” the lawyer said.
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