Mona Juul is a Norwegian diplomat who, with her husband Terje Rød-Larsen, helped broker the 1990s Oslo Accords. In February 2026 she resigned as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq after the U.S. Epstein-file release. On February 9, Økokrim said it had opened an investigation charging her with aggravated corruption based on her positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Norwegian status, siktet, identifies her as formally under investigation; no conviction has been entered.12
Diplomacy and the files
Juul's public career ran through the foreign ministry and ambassadorial posts. The January 2026 Justice Department release put her and Rød-Larsen back into Norwegian politics through records of hospitality, property negotiations and intended bequests involving their family.
Released records described in contemporaneous reporting include plans, in 2011, for a family visit to Epstein's Caribbean island with their children. The Guardian reported a subsequent email thanking Epstein for the visit.3 In 2018 Epstein helped the couple negotiate the purchase of an Oslo apartment, a transaction Rød-Larsen's lawyer later identified as part of the police inquiry. A will signed two days before Epstein's death named the couple's two children as intended recipients of $5 million each. A planned bequest is not a completed distribution, and it does not by itself prove present entitlement after creditors and expenses.45
Norway's foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, said Juul's contact with a convicted sex offender showed a "serious failure of judgement" and made it difficult to restore the trust the ambassadorial role requires. The ministry said an internal review of her knowledge of Epstein would continue after her resignation, and that it would re-examine former grants to the International Peace Institute, the New York think tank Rød-Larsen led until 2020.2
The Økokrim case
Økokrim's February 9 statement is the controlling public account of the criminal file. Juul is charged with aggravated corruption in connection with her foreign-ministry roles. Investigators will examine, among other things, whether she received benefits tied to those positions. The same day, after a court search order, police searched an apartment in Frogner, Oslo, and a witness's premises. Director Pål Lønseth called the work comprehensive and likely long. The investigation examines whether any benefits were connected to her official duties.1
Juul's lawyer has said she does not recognize the accusations. The couple's lawyers have said they expect the facts, once reviewed, to show no criminal liability. Thorbjørn Jagland is in a separate Økokrim file. The investigations concern distinct allegations and remain unresolved.
References
Footnotes
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Reuters, "Norwegian diplomat steps down over Epstein ties" ↩ ↩2
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The Guardian, Two senior Norwegian diplomats being investigated over Epstein links, February 9, 2026 ↩
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Reuters, "Norway police investigate diplomat couple over suspected Epstein corruption" ↩
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AP, "Norwegian ambassador resigns over Jeffrey Epstein ties" ↩