He has, however, been charged with corruption re: Epstein.
Poland has opened investigations into Epstein-linked officials, and today Parliament in the UK is debating completely removing former Prince Andrew from the line of succession (he remains 8th in line) — which is a Parliamentary decision not royal — with the apparent blessing of King Charles.
https://www.newsinenglish.no/2026/02/12/jagland-also-charged-with-corruption/
Jagland also charged with corruption
February 12, 2026
Thorbjørn Jagland has held several of Norway’s highest positions, and was second only to King Harald V in terms of power when he was president of the Norwegian Parliament. On Thursday his home and other properties he owns were being ransacked by police, and he was formally charged with serious corruption.
Thorbjørn Jagland, during a meeting with the Foreign Press Association in Oslo while he was both chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and secretary general of the Council of Europe. PHOTO: NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
It’s arguably the steepest fall any Norwegian official has ever had. Jagland, now age 75 and retired, has also been Norway’s prime minister, foreign minister and leader of the Norwegian Labour Party, sat on the Norwegian Nobel Committee for nearly 11 years and led it for six while he also was secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He grew up in a working class family in Lier, west of Oslo, and studied at the University of Oslo before leaving to become a career politician for Labour that eventually led to other opportunities.
Now he’s in trouble. On Wednesday the Council of Europe withdrew his immunity at the request of Norwegian police who’d already started looking into Jagland’s ties to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Several police cars and staff from the state police economic crimes unit Økokrim showed up outside Jagland’s home in Oslo’s fashionable Uranienborg/Frogner neighbourhood on Thursday morning and then began carrying out boxes. Jagland was inside his residence along with his defense attorney Anders Brosveet.
Norwegian media were on the scene when they both later walked out shortly after noon. Jagland was tight-lipped, other then to tell state broadcaster NRK among others that “my attorney has said enough.” Brosveet said they were heading to his office, before Jagland faced questioning from Økokrim later in the day. PST leader Pål Lønseth said that “as a consequence of the ransacking, Jagland is now charged with serious corruption.”
Brosveet had earlier claimed that Jagland, who was found to have had extensive contact with Epstein while he held lofty positions, was taking the police investigation into his relations with Epstein “very seriously” and would cooperate with the police investigation. Police also ransacked another of his family’s homes in Risør on Norway’s southern coast and a holiday home at Rauland in the mountains of Telemark.
Brosveet had stated in a press release before Jagland was formerly charged with corruption that they would try to make sure “the facts will be as correct and extensive as possible before any conclusions are drawn.” Brosveet said Jagland still believes that he hasn’t been involved in any transactions that would lead to criminal punishment.
The charges against Jagland, though, are indeed serious. He’s among many others who, according to documents recently released by the US Department of Justice, are suspected of accepting expensive favours from Epstein, in his case between 2011 and 2018. The favours included use of Epstein’s homes in New York and Paris and family vacations in Palm Beach, Florida, where Epstein had a waterfront estate that also was a venue for human trafficking and sex offenses.
Epstein himself had been released from prison in 2008 after plea bargaining that involved sex offenses. He’s believed to have been keen to set up new networks of people in high positions. Lønseth has said that the material released by US authorities “indicates that Epstein … tried to gain benefits from Jagland’s network and position in various ways.”
Other emails between Epstein and Jagland show that Epstein later wanted Jagland to set up a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Newspaper VG has reported that Epstein wanted to propose a “sophisticated Russian version of Bitcoins.”
When Berit Reiss Andersen, who succeeded Jagland as leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, asked other committee members if they’d had contact with Epstein (after Epstein had been charged with more sex offenses and human trafficking, and later committed suicide in prison in 2019), Jagland declined to give Andersen an affirmative answer. When the latest batch of the Epstein files started being released, Jagland downplayed his contact with Epstein, calling it “normal diplomatic activity.”
He more recently has admitted to “poor judgment” on his part, a phrase being used by several other Norwegians caught in Epstein’s web. Norwegian psychologist Espen Skorstad told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) that the phrase is equivalent to an “emergency exit” in a language sense, used by people trying to distance themselves from mistakes by claiming ignorance and failing to take responsibility.
Now Jagland will need to answer lots of questions from Norway’s economic crime unit. It’s up to the police whether he’ll later be indicted and put on trial.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund