A prominent Norwegian diplomat has resigned and faces a criminal investigation after revelations in the Epstein files exposed her family’s extensive ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including plans that would have left $10 million to her children.
Mona Juul stepped down Sunday as Norway’s ambassador to Jordan and Iraq, days after being suspended when Norwegian media reported that Epstein’s will designated $5 million for each of her two children. Norway’s economic crime unit, Økokrim, launched an aggravated corruption inquiry Monday, searching a property in Oslo and investigating whether Juul received benefits connected to her diplomatic position.
“We have opened an investigation to clarify whether criminal acts have occurred,” said Pål Lønseth, head of Økokrim. “We are facing a comprehensive and, by all accounts, long-term investigation.”
The investigation centers on Juul, 66, and her husband Terje Rød-Larsen, a former diplomat and ex-president of the International Peace Institute. Juul faces suspicion of gross corruption during her tenure at the foreign affairs ministry, while Rød-Larsen is being investigated for complicity in gross corruption.
The couple rose to international prominence in the 1990s as key negotiators of the Oslo Accords, the historic but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Juul went on to serve as Norway’s ambassador to Israel, Britain, and the United Nations before her recent posting.
Documents released last month by the U.S. Department of Justice reveal the depth of the family’s relationship with Epstein. The files show Juul and Rød-Larsen visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island with their children in 2011. In an email thanking Epstein afterward, Rød-Larsen described the island as “totally unique,” adding: “We all loved it! Mona sends a kiss.”
More troubling still, Rød-Larsen was appointed executor of Epstein’s will in 2017, though he was later removed from that role. The will leaving money to the couple’s children was signed just two days before Epstein died in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The files also indicate Rød-Larsen and former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland dined with Epstein in Paris in June 2019, just weeks before federal agents arrested the financier at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.
Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide announced Juul’s resignation with stark language. “Juul’s contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein revealed a serious lapse in judgment,” he said. “The situation makes it difficult to restore the trust that the role requires.”
Juul’s lawyer, Thomas Skjelbred, said his client disputes the allegations. “At the same time, she views it positively that the allegations will now be subject to a thorough investigation, allowing the actual circumstances to be clarified. My client does not recognise the accusations made against her,” Skjelbred said in a statement.
Rød-Larsen’s attorney, John Christian Elden, said his client is cooperating fully with investigators and expressed confidence that the probe will clear him of wrongdoing, stating “there is no basis for criminal liability.”
Juul and Rød-Larsen are the latest Norwegian figures caught in the widening scandal following the release of Epstein’s files. Crown Princess Mette-Marit issued an apology to Norwegians after the files revealed she exchanged messages with Epstein for three years. “I would like to express my deepest regret for my friendship with Jeffrey Epstein,” she said in a statement. “It is important for me to apologize to all of you whom I have disappointed.”
Thorbjørn Jagland, Norway’s former prime minister who also served as chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and secretary general of the Council of Europe, faces his own investigation over alleged Epstein links. Økokrim opened an aggravated corruption inquiry into Jagland, examining whether he received gifts, trips, or loans during his time in those positions.
Børge Brende, former Norwegian foreign minister who now serves as chief executive of the World Economic Forum, acknowledged dining with Epstein three times in 2018 and 2019. The WEF ordered an independent review of Brende’s interactions with the deceased financier.
The revelations have sent shockwaves through Norway, a nation that prides itself on transparency and ethical governance. That multiple high-profile figures maintained relationships with Epstein, continuing contact even after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, has prompted soul-searching about how such connections went unchallenged for so long.
Pål Lønseth, head of Økokrim, cautioned that investigators face a lengthy process. “We have opened an investigation to clarify whether criminal acts have occurred. We are facing a comprehensive and, by all accounts, long-term investigation,” he said.
Appearance in the Epstein files does not automatically indicate criminal wrongdoing. The millions of pages of emails, images, and FBI reports paint a complex picture of Epstein’s vast network of relationships with politicians, scientists, academics, and business leaders worldwide.
Rød-Larsen stepped down as president of the International Peace Institute in October 2020 after previously undisclosed links to Jeffrey Epstein came to light, including a personal loan he had received and repaid.
The investigation continues, with both Juul and Rød-Larsen expected to face questioning from Økokrim detectives in the coming weeks. The probe will examine whether diplomatic influence was leveraged for personal gain and what benefits, if any, the couple received through their relationship with one of history’s most notorious criminals.