Terje Rød-Larsen now says that a board member of the think tank IPI approved Jeffrey Epstein as a donor.
In 2020, he said that the board had not been informed about the money.
IPI stands for the International Peace Institute and is based in New York. Rød-Larsen headed the think tank until he stepped down on 29 October 2020.
Foundations linked to Epstein made five donations to IPI totalling $650,000 between 2011 and 2019, according to a review commissioned by IPI itself from KPMG. Rød-Larsen secured the funds, according to the IPI board.
In September, he told NRK that he did not approve Epstein’s donation on his own.
– After two or three meetings with Epstein, I asked him to meet Mort Zuckerman, another member of the IPI board. He approved Epstein as a donor,” said Rød-Larsen.
Dagens Næringsliv (DN) has now gained access to board minutes from 2020. They state:
“In response to questions from the board, Terje Rød-Larsen explained that he was aware of Epstein’s background when he accepted the donations, and confirmed that the board was not informed about these donations.”
Mort Zuckerman in 2005. Photo: NTB
Rød-Larsen’s lawyer, John Christian Elden, explains the difference in an email to DN. In 2020, Rød-Larsen wanted to protect IPI and the board, he writes.
Zuckerman is an American businessman and media mogul. In IPI’s annual reports for 2014 and 2015, he is listed as deputy chair, secretary and treasurer of the board.
Rita Hauser, who was chair of IPI’s board when Rød-Larsen became acquainted with Epstein, does not wish to comment on the matter to DN. Document has not found any statement from Zuckerman.
When Rød-Larsen stepped down in October 2020, the IPI board stated that he had secured donations and taken out a personal loan from Epstein in 2013. The board was not aware of either of these matters, it said. The loan was for $130,000, and Rød-Larsen himself wrote that he had repaid it.
Kevin Rudd, former Australian Prime Minister, was chair of the IPI board in 2020. He said at the time that he first heard about the money from Epstein’s foundations in November 2019, and that he was taken by surprise.
IPI’s own review from December 2020 concluded that Rød-Larsen did not, technically speaking, breach IPI’s rules as they stood at the time. Nevertheless, he should have informed the board that he was receiving money from Epstein-linked foundations, and he should not have accepted the loan. Zuckerman is not mentioned in the two reports IPI published in December 2020.
The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim) is investigating whether Mona Juul received benefits by virtue of her position in the Foreign Service. Rød-Larsen has been charged with aiding and abetting serious corruption in that case.
He denies the allegations.
