OSLO, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Norway's national authority for investigating and prosecuting economic and environmental crime (Okokrim) said on Thursday it has opened an investigation into former Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland on suspicion of aggravated corruption, citing information contained in newly released Epstein files.
In a statement, Okokrim said the probe will focus on whether Jagland may have received undue benefits including gifts, travel and loans in connection with his positions as chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and as secretary general of the Council of Europe.
Because Jagland has immunity from prosecution for official acts performed in his capacity as a former head of an international organization, Okokrim said it has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway to initiate a process to have that immunity lifted.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store was quoted by Norwegian media as saying that the new information raised "a number of new questions" that must be answered, and that Okokrim's decision to open an aggravated corruption investigation underscores the seriousness of the matter.
The investigation comes after the U.S. Department of Justice said on Jan. 30 that it had published more than 3 million additional pages of materials under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which it said was signed into law by President Donald Trump in November 2025. Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019, was a U.S. financier accused of sex trafficking.
Norwegian media have reported that the newly released materials shed further light on Jagland's contacts with Epstein, including plans for a family visit to Epstein's private Caribbean island in 2014 that was later canceled.
Jagland served as Norway's prime minister from 1996 to 1997, as secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019, and as chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2009 to 2015. ■
