Norway Investigates Diplomats Over Epstein Corruption Claims

Norwegian authorities have launched a high-level corruption investigation that places the country’s diplomatic elite within the expanding aftershock of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

The probe, announced Monday by Norway’s financial crimes unit Oekokrim, targets former ambassador Mona Juul and her husband, veteran diplomat and former minister Terje Roed-Larsen. The case tests Norway’s institutional safeguards at a moment when newly released U.S. Justice Department files have revived scrutiny of Epstein’s global network more than 5 years after his death in 2019.

Elite Access and Corruption Risk

Oekokrim said Juul is suspected of gross corruption, while Roed-Larsen is suspected of complicity in gross corruption. In a statement, the agency confirmed that “a new investigation has been opened in connection with the Epstein files” and described it as “a comprehensive and, by all accounts, long-term investigation.”

The inquiry centers on whether Juul received benefits tied to her diplomatic positions and whether Roed-Larsen facilitated or benefited from Epstein-linked transactions.

Juul resigned on Sunday from her post as Norway’s ambassador to Jordan and Iraq. She has previously served as ambassador to Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.

Police said they are examining whether benefits were received “in connection with her position,” a formulation that places official authority and private access at the core of the case.

Financial Ties Under Scrutiny

Roed-Larsen’s relationship with Epstein first surfaced publicly in 2019 and has since been documented through emails, texts, and financial arrangements.

According to released records, Epstein assisted the couple in negotiating the purchase of an Oslo apartment in 2018, including pressuring the seller in an email exchange warning “it will become unpleasant” if the deal collapsed.

Roed-Larsen’s lawyer, John Christian Elden, said the investigation focuses on the 2018 real estate transaction and “a possible trip in 2011.”

The DOJ files also show that Epstein’s 2019 will, signed two days before his death, named Juul and Roed-Larsen’s two children as beneficiaries of $5 million each. Roed-Larsen, now 78, had stepped down in 2020 as CEO of the New York-based International Peace Institute following earlier disclosures.

In a 2017 message cited in the files, he thanked Epstein for “everything you have done” and referred to him as his “best friend” and “a thoroughly good human being.”

“No Basis for Criminal Liability”

Both Juul and Roed-Larsen deny wrongdoing and are cooperating with investigators. Elden said Roed-Larsen is confident that “once all the factual circumstances have been thoroughly reviewed, the investigation will clarify that there is no basis for criminal liability.”

Juul’s lawyer, Thomas Skjelbred, said she does not recognize the accusations and welcomed a full investigation to clarify the facts.

The couple were part of the small group of Norwegian diplomats who facilitated the Oslo Accords between 1993 and 1995, a role that gave them enduring stature in international diplomacy.

Roed-Larsen briefly served as a cabinet minister in 1996 under Prime Minister Thorbjoern Jagland.

Royal and European Spillover

The investigation unfolds amid broader European fallout from the Epstein files. On the beginning of February, Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit apologized after newly released DOJ documents suggested she maintained email contact with Epstein between 2011 and 2014, including a stay at his Palm Beach residence in 2013.

In a statement, she said she had shown “poor judgment” and expressed sympathy for Epstein’s victims, adding that contact ended in 2014.

Elsewhere, scrutiny has spread beyond Norway. In Britain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced pressure over appointing Peter Mandelson, who previously acknowledged ties to Epstein, as ambassador to Washington.

Together, the cases underscore how Epstein’s financial leverage and elite access continue to expose governance and accountability gaps across Europe years after his death.