Sawt Falasteen - Norway's ex-diplomat seen as key cog in Epstein affair

Along with his wife Mona Juul, another diplomat now caught up in the turmoil following the latest release of millions of documents from the investigation relating to Epstein, Rod-Larsen rose to fame as one of the architects of the secret Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that led to the Oslo Accords in the 1990s.

A sociologist by training, he held various roles at the United Nations: assistant secretary-general, special coordinator in the Occupied Territories, then special envoy for the Middle East.

The now 78-year-old Norwegian ended his career at the International Peace Institute (IPI).

It was in the 2010s, while heading the New York-based think tank, that he developed what appears to have been a close relationship with Epstein, who had already been convicted in 2008 for soliciting a minor.

- 'Super-diplomat' -

A mere mention in the files does not imply wrongdoing. The nearly three million documents released by US authorities have illuminated deeper ties than previously known between members of Norway's elite and Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

Harald Stanghelle, a political commentator for newspaper Aftenposten, believes that in Rod-Larsen's case, "the super-diplomat was not merely a pawn in Epstein's game but a spider at the centre of the web".

"If you look at all the most important Norwegian political figures named in the Epstein documents, he is the key figure: no one came into contact with Epstein without going through Rod-Larsen," he told AFP.

"He comes across as someone funnelling people to Epstein," Stanghelle said.

Norwegian police have opened investigations into "aggravated corruption" against former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland over his dealings with Epstein -- who had dubbed him "the Nobel big shot" -- while he was chair of the Nobel Committee and secretary general of the Council of Europe.

Also named in the files are World Economic Forum CEO and former foreign minister Borge Brende, and another former premier Kjell Magne Bondevik.

- 'Impossible to ignore' -

To explain the relatively large number of Norwegians tainted by the Epstein affair, "it is completely impossible to ignore Rod-Larsen, a person who established lasting contacts with Epstein from at least 2010", Halvard Leira, a political scientist at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), said.

According to Stanghelle, Rod-Larsen, while at the helm of the IPI between 2005 and 2020, also opened doors to international heavyweights for Epstein.

"In return, Rod-Larsen also benefited from Epstein's address book in a world where contacts are valuable for wielding influence, and from his financial generosity," the commentator said.

Rod-Larsen revitalised the IPI, notably thanks to donations from Epstein, but resigned from the organisation in 2020 after the donations were revealed.

Emails and documents unearthed by newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv, show that Epstein ordered that $250,000 be paid to Rod-Larsen in 2015, for reasons that remain unknown.

Shipowner Morits Skaugen also told newspaper VG that Epstein personally intervened in 2018 to push him to sell Rod-Larsen and his wife a large apartment in an affluent district of Oslo, calling it a "threat".

The price was 14 million kroner ($1.5 million), just "half" of its market value, Skaugen said.

Epstein also left $10 million in his will to the couple's two children, according to Norwegian media.

- Investigation -

"Rod-Larsen has previously expressed regret for his association with Epstein and has clearly distanced himself from Epstein's actions," Rod-Larsen's lawyer, John Christian Elden, stressed last week.

"His health condition makes it impossible for Rod-Larsen to give interviews or respond directly to media inquiries," he added, noting that his client was seriously ill after suffering several recent strokes.

Norwegian police announced on Monday that they had opened an investigation into Juul and Rod-Larsen, for suspected "aggravated corruption" and "complicity in aggravated corruption" respectively.

Already suspended pending a foreign ministry probe, Juul has also resigned from her post as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq.

Q.Najjar--SF-PST