Terje Rød-Larsen

Terje Rød-Larsen is the Norwegian sociologist and diplomat who, with Mona Juul, helped produce the Oslo Accords. He later served as a UN under-secretary-general and, from 2005 to 2020, as president of the International Peace Institute in New York. Epstein lent him money, donated to IPI, and sought roles there for people in his circle. In February 2026 Økokrim charged him with contribution to aggravated corruption. He has not been convicted. His lawyer says the facts will not support criminal liability.¹²

  IPI, philanthropy, and the loan

IPI is a UN-adjacent think tank. Rød-Larsen brought Epstein in as a donor without, IPI later said, the board's knowledge. Epstein paid for at least one IPI-sponsored evening in 2017. In 2013 he lent Rød-Larsen $130,000. When that loan and the donations became public, Rød-Larsen resigned as CEO in 2020 and apologized for the relationship. ³⁴

Released correspondence goes further than the 2020 disclosures. In 2017 Rød-Larsen thanked Epstein for "everything you have done" and called him his "best friend" and a "thoroughly good human being." OCCRP reported emails in which Epstein helped a girlfriend obtain IPI roles and offered to subsidize her salary. Norwegian reporting has described official letters from Rød-Larsen supporting U.S. visas for young Russian women in Epstein's orbit, framed as researchers of "extraordinary abilities." His lawyer, John Christian Elden, told OCCRP that Rød-Larsen had not been involved in IPI employment or hiring decisions.²³⁵

Fabrice Aidan, then Rød-Larsen's UN adviser, forwarded Epstein UN material from the same circle. Aidan's correspondence is part of a separate French investigation.

The Gates Foundation's July 2026 review describes another introduction: Epstein connected Gates with IPI's president in 2012, preceding an October 2013 foundation grant. The review found no evidence the foundation knew of Epstein's continuing crimes. See Bill Gates.⁶

  The 2026 investigation

Økokrim's February 9 statement charges Rød-Larsen with contribution to aggravated corruption, paired with Juul's charge arising from her foreign-ministry posts. Police searched a Frogner apartment the same day. Rød-Larsen's lawyer, John Christian Elden, said the investigation centered on the 2018 Oslo apartment purchase and "a possible trip in 2011."¹²

The Guardian reported a subsequent email thanking Epstein for the visit.⁷

A will signed two days before Epstein's death named the couple's two children as intended recipients of $5 million each. That is a planned bequest in a document, not proof the children received the money or that Juul's official acts were bought with it.⁸

Norway's foreign ministry opened a review of its former grants to IPI. The National Audit Office had already looked at IPI years earlier. Rød-Larsen remains, in Norwegian law, a person under investigation.

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  References

  Footnotes

1. Økokrim, "Confirms new investigation," 9 February 2026 ↩ ↩²

2. Reuters, "Norway police investigate diplomat couple over suspected Epstein corruption" ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. OCCRP, "Jeffrey Epstein Arranged Employment for Romantic Partner at Top U.S. Think Tank" ↩ ↩²

4. The Guardian, "The Jeffrey Epstein files have shattered Norway's illusions about itself" ↩

5. Al Jazeera, "Compromised peace? Oslo Accords figure deeply linked to Epstein network" ↩

6. WilmerHale review of Gates Foundation engagement with Epstein, July 21, 2026, p. 2 ↩

7. The Guardian, Two senior Norwegian diplomats being investigated over Epstein links, February 9, 2026 ↩

8. AP, "Norwegian ambassador resigns over Jeffrey Epstein ties" ↩