Norwegian police are investigating the country’s former prime minister, Thorbjørn Jagland, after emails show Epstein enlisted Jagland to try to help him approach Russian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In May 2013, Epstein emailed Jagland to ask him to relay a message to Putin about how he could help the Russian leader and and his country “leapfrog the global community by reinventing the financial system of the 21st century.” He was proposing “A new form of money, on a world wide basis.”
Jagland replied in an email that it “is not easy for me to explain to Putin,” but he could talk to Putin about attracting foreign investment, and he offered to tell Putin, “I have a friend that can help you take the necessary measures.”
Epstein wrote back, instructing Jagland to tell Putin, “you and I are close, and that i advise Gates” and that he would meet with Putin for “a minimum of two to three hours, not shorter.”
An email on June 24, 2018, revealed Epstein also wanted to talk to Sergei Lavrov, the longtime Russian foreign minister. Epstein told Jagland to “suggest to putin, that lavrov, can get insight on talking to me.” He added that he used to talk with Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
It is unclear if Epstein ever met with Putin or Lavrov.
Jagland and family visited Epstein’s properties numerous times. He and his family stayed at Epstein’s island, his Palm Beach house and his Paris apartment, and Epstein’s staff helped coordinate the trips, emails show.
In May 2012, Jagland and his wife stayed with Epstein in his Paris apartment, according to an itinerary.
And in March 2014, Epstein invited Jagland’s family to visit him on his island. A redacted sender contacted Cecil de Jongh, who was then the first lady of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and said of Jagland, “This man lives far, far away and I had also looking into flights for him & the family over xmas and it was nightmare!” A few days later, Jagland was contacted by Lesley Groff, who said she would help plan the trip. Emails show it was booked for April 8.
The pending investigation into Jagland will look into gifts, travels and loans that he may have received from Epstein, because they would constitute ethics violations while he was serving a secretary general and chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Jagland also commented about women on several occasions in his emails with Epstein. In one, he talked about celebrating his wife’s 60th birthday in the Caribbean and wrote, “I can’t keep it going only with young women as you know.” In another, he told Epstein he was “in Tirana (Albania) extraordinary girls.”
Anders Brosveet, an attorney representing Jagland, said in a statement, “Due to the ongoing police investigation, it would not be appropriate for Mr. Jagland to respond to questions from the press regarding matters that may become subject to the investigation.”
Brosveet’s law firm, Elden Advokatfirma, pointed to a prior statement from him that reads: “We view it positively that [Norwegian authorities] will now review the questions that have been raised by the press in recent days.”
By Sophia Vlahakis and Caroline Hinson
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