Authorities in Norway opened investigations into Telenor Group over its former operation in Myanmar, charging the company on suspicion of violating sanctions and separately on claims of complicity in a crime against humanity.

In a joint statement, Norwegian law enforcement organisations PST and Kripos announced the opening of separate probes and outlined the associated charges.

PST is assessing potential violation of sanctions legislation related to Telenor’s divestment of its unit in Myanmar, which completed in 2022.

It accuses the company of including sanctioned surveillance equipment in the sale without permission of authorities.  

Kripos is looking into complicity with crimes against humanity, which relates to accusations the operator’s unit in Myanmar “repeatedly handed over historical traffic data on customers of the military regime” between the time of a coup in February 2021 and the sale of the business.

The authority stated this was at a time when “the regime was responsible for extensive abuses against parts of the civilian population”.  

In a stock market statement, Telenor revealed it is closely cooperating with investigators and pledged to “do everything in its power to assist in clarifying the case to the fullest extent possible”.

The operator noted no individuals had been charged or were under investigation.

Telenor added the probe “represents a further step in the extensive and ongoing dialogue” it “has maintained with the Norwegian prosecuting authorities over a long period, during which a substantial volume of documentation and information has been provided”.

As part of their investigations, the PST and Kripos are set to conduct a search of the company’s headquarters in Oslo today (15 September) and plan to cooperate on their probes.

Telenor reportedly previously argued it was required to hand over data to Myanmar’s miliary government, stating it was faced with “no good options”.

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