Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor has been charged with complicity in crimes against humanity and violating sanctions law over its former operations in Myanmar, Norwegian news outlet E24 reported on Tuesday.
Norway’s Police Security Service and National Criminal Investigation Service said they were conducting a joint search of Telenor’s headquarters in Fornebu, near Oslo, as part of separate investigations into the company.
The investigation into alleged complicity in crimes against humanity covers the period from Myanmar’s military coup on February 1 2021, to Telenor’s sale of its Myanmar subsidiary on March 25 2022.
It concerns the repeated handover of historical customer traffic data by Telenor Myanmar to the country’s military authorities while the military was carrying out widespread abuses against civilians, police said.
A separate investigation centres on a suspected violation of Norway’s sanctions law linked to the sale of Telenor Myanmar. The transaction included sanctioned surveillance equipment that had not been authorised by Norway’s foreign ministry, police said.
No individuals have been charged or are under investigation, Telenor said in a stock exchange announcement.
The company said the investigations were a continuation of a long-standing dialogue with Norwegian prosecutors and that it had provided authorities with extensive documentation and information.
“Telenor will do its utmost to clarify the case to the extent possible,” the company said.
Telenor cites risks to employees
Telenor said conditions in Myanmar had become increasingly difficult after the military seized power in February 2021.
“Our employees risked imprisonment, torture or the death penalty if the military authorities’ orders were not followed,” Telenor Chief Information Officer David Fidjeland said in a statement.
Telenor received a mobile licence in Myanmar in 2013 and began operations there in 2014.
The company later sold its Myanmar business after writing down the value of its investment by 6.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($700 million).
“This is a complex case that has also previously been investigated by the police. We will therefore let the police carry out their work and await the further process before commenting further,” Fidjeland said.
The investigations follow a parliamentary inquiry opened last year into Telenor’s operations in Myanmar around the time of the military coup.
