The World Economic Forum has launched an independent investigation into its chief executive, Borge Brende, to clarify the nature of his past interactions with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in a move that puts the leadership of the influential Davos organisation under renewed scrutiny. The Geneva-based body said on Thursday that the review was ordered following recent disclosures by the U.S. Justice Department, Reuters reported.
According to the WEF, the disclosures showed that Brende had attended three business dinners with Epstein and had also exchanged emails and text messages with him. In response, the Forum’s Governing Board asked its Audit and Risk Committee to examine the matter, a process that ultimately led to the decision to initiate an independent investigation.
“In light of these interactions, the Governing Board requested the Audit and Risk Committee to look into the matter, which subsequently decided to initiate an independent review,” the WEF said in a statement. It added that the step reflected the organisation’s commitment to transparency and to safeguarding its institutional integrity.
Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister who has served as WEF chief executive since 2017, has expressed full support for the investigation, which the Forum said he had personally requested. He will continue in his role while the review is carried out by outside legal counsel.
In a statement cited by Reuters, Brende said his first meeting with Epstein took place in 2018 at a dinner in New York, which he attended at the invitation of Terje Rod-Larsen, a former Norwegian deputy prime minister. He said he later attended two similar dinners in 2019, which were also attended by diplomats and business leaders.
Brende said those dinners, along with what he described as “a few emails and SMS messages”, constituted the entirety of his contact with Epstein. He said he was unaware at the time of Epstein’s past and criminal activities, and acknowledged that he regretted not carrying out more thorough background checks before agreeing to meet him.
“Had I known about his background, I would have declined the initial invitation to join Rod-Larsen and any subsequent dinner invitations or other communications,” Brende said, according to Reuters.
The investigation adds to ongoing global scrutiny of prominent figures and institutions that had contact with Epstein before his crimes became widely known. For the World Economic Forum, which convenes political and business leaders annually at its Davos summit, the outcome of the review will be closely watched as a test of its governance standards and credibility at a time of heightened public sensitivity around transparency and accountability.
