Norway Opens Epstein-Linked Inquiry Into 11 Ministers and Past Grants
Norway's parliament has opened an investigation into 11 current and former senior ministers over alleged ties and government grants connected to Jeffrey Epstein. Al Jazeera
Public hearings started on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, before the Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs. Reuters The hearings were led by chair Jonas Andersen Sayed. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere is among the officials included.
Stoere testified at the opening hearing. He said he had "never had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein." His denial is now on the record at the start of a process covering decisions across several governments.
Why the money matters
One focus is state funding. Norway's Foreign Ministry gave more than 130 million kroner ($13.5 million) to the International Peace Institute between 1997 and 2018. The institute was headed from 2005 to 2020 by Norwegian diplomat Terje Rod-Larsen. Stoere served as Norway's foreign minister from 2005 to 2012, which overlaps with both the funding period and Rod-Larsen's time as leader.
Renewed attention follows documents released from Washington. In January, the U.S. Department of Justice released millions of Epstein-related documents. Those files have led to reviews in several countries. In Oslo, they raised questions about contacts between Norwegian diplomats and Epstein and about due diligence, meaning the checks done before ministry payments were approved.
Two investigations at once
There is also a separate police investigation. Former Prime Minister Thorbjoern Jagland, Rod-Larsen and former diplomat Mona Juul are being investigated by police over corruption allegations linked to Epstein. Epstein also left millions of dollars to Rod-Larsen's children in his will, a detail now included in the material under parliamentary review.
Parliament has set up its review in two parts. The current public hearings let the scrutiny committee question ministers directly to establish what was known, when, and by whom. Lawmakers have also created an independent inquiry on the Epstein case, which is due to deliver its final report by January 31, 2028.
The broader context here is about institutions, not only individuals. Like a financial audit running alongside a criminal trial, Norway treats political responsibility and criminal liability as two different questions. The committee looks at ministerial conduct and control of grant money. The police inquiry looks at whether corruption laws were broken. Both can examine the same facts without deciding the outcome for each other.
Looking at what this means for Norwegian diplomacy, the issue is grant governance and trust. Foreign ministries often fund research institutes and groups that work between governments. Oversight depends on paperwork, checks for conflicts of interest, and clear records when ministers change. When a group that received public money is later linked to a private donor facing legal scrutiny elsewhere, earlier payments can face a backward look, even if no sitting minister is accused of direct contact.
In my view, three factors will shape what happens next. First, whether testimony clarifies who approved the payments to the International Peace Institute and what contacts described in the U.S. files were known. Second, whether the police case leads to charges or is dropped, which would change how the parliamentary findings are read politically. Third, whether the independent inquiry, with more than a year to work, looks beyond the 11 ministers now named or stays with current administrative records. The timetable is long, with a final report due in early 2028, which gives investigators time to compare ministry archives with the U.S. releases and keeps the issue in public debate through future budgets and foreign policy discussions.
