afp | After the recent publications on US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein In Norway, former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland is increasingly finding himself in need of explanation. The Nobel Institute in Oslo said on Wednesday it was waiting for Jagland to explain his alleged ties to the US billionaire. From January 2009 to March 2015, Jagland was chairman of the Nobel Committee, which decides on the award of the Nobel Peace Prize every year.
The Norwegian newspaper VG reported under reference to the documents published on Fridaythat Jagland had close contact with Epstein. Jagland once asked for financial support to buy an apartment. Jagland told the newspaper that he received all loans for his properties from the Norwegian bank DNB.
“If it turns out that Thorbjørn Jagland received financial benefits from Jeffrey Epstein while he was a member of the Nobel Committee, that would contradict our code of conduct,” Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the Nobel Institute, told reporters. But he doesn’t want to prejudge Jagland. Jagland was Prime Minister of Norway from 1996 to 1997 and Secretary General of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019.
Visits to the US billionaire
In a correspondence, Epstein Jagland is said to be, according to the newspaper VG asked to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to documents released by the US Department of Justice, Jagland stayed with Epstein in New York in 2018 and in Epstein’s apartment in Paris in 2015 and 2018. In 2014, the former prime minister also planned a vacation with his family on the US investor’s island, but the trip was ultimately canceled.
On Sunday evening, Jagland admitted to the newspaper Aftenposten “Error in judgment” by Epstein.
The Justice Department in Washington released more than three million additional documents on the Epstein case on Friday, including emails, photos and videos. The names of numerous personalities appear there again.
Royal family also involved
On Monday, one of Norway’s most prominent diplomats, Mona Juul, was temporarily suspended because of her alleged ties to Epstein. Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit admitted “embarrassing” mistakesafter Norwegian media reported on her friendship with Epstein.
Epstein is said to have abused thousands of minors and young women and sometimes passed them on to celebrities. He was first convicted in 2008 for abusing underage girls. Because of a controversial deal with the public prosecutor, he received only 18 months in prison.
In 2019 he was arrested again for, among other things, sexual abuse of minors. About a month later, he was found hanging in his New York prison cell; according to official reports, he took his own life.