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Another high-profile name has been pulled into the long, messy shadow of Jeffrey Epstein, and it’s unlikely to be the last.
Norwegian police said Thursday they have opened an investigation into former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland on suspicion of serious corruption, tied to his past relationship with Epstein, the American financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019.
Jagland is no minor political figure. He served as Norway’s prime minister in the mid-1990s, later led the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, and went on to become secretary general of the Council of Europe, one of Europe’s most influential human rights bodies.
The investigation follows the release of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice last week, which continue to ripple across Europe and beyond, dragging unexpected names back into the Epstein story years after his death.
According to Norwegian daily Verdens Gang, the documents show that Jagland at one point asked Epstein to guarantee the purchase of an apartment, though it remains unclear whether the deal ever went through.
The same records indicate that Jagland stayed at Epstein’s New York home in 2018 and visited his Paris apartment in both 2015 and 2018. They also reveal that Jagland and his family had planned a trip to Epstein’s private island in 2014, a vacation that was ultimately canceled.
Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will formally ask the Council of Europe to lift Jagland’s immunity, a necessary step before any legal proceedings can move forward due to his former role at the organization.
Epstein’s vast network of political, financial and social connections has continued to surface long after his death, with investigators and journalists revisiting old relationships that once drew little scrutiny. Each new disclosure has reinforced a growing sense that the full scope of his influence, and the people tied to it, may never be fully known.
For now, Norwegian authorities stress that the investigation is ongoing and that no conclusions have been reached. But the message is becoming harder to ignore: the Epstein saga isn’t over, and it may still have many more powerful names to claim.
*Source: BBC
