OSLO — Norwegian authorities raided the headquarters of telecom giant Telenor on Tuesday, launching a criminal investigation into whether the company aided and abetted crimes against humanity in Myanmar following the 2021 military coup.
The National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) and the PST security service confirmed the raid, stating that the investigation also covers suspected violations of international sanctions.
At the heart of the probe are allegations that Telenor Myanmar—the company’s local subsidiary—repeatedly handed over historical traffic data and location information of customers to the military regime.
“The military coup was a tragedy for the people of Myanmar, in which we found ourselves placed in an impossible situation with no good alternatives,” a Telenor spokesperson told Reuters following the raid.
Police allege that this data sharing occurred at a time when the junta was responsible for “extensive abuses against parts of the civilian population.” Telenor, which sold its business in Myanmar and completed its exit from the country in March 2022, stated it is cooperating closely with investigators and will “do everything in its power to assist in clarifying the case.”
“An Impossible Situation”
The investigation marks a significant escalation in the scrutiny of the telecom operator’s conduct during one of the darkest periods in Myanmar’s recent history.
Telenor has defended its actions, arguing that its employees faced extreme duress. In a statement to Reuters, the company claimed that staff risked “imprisonment, torture or the death penalty” if they did not comply with orders from the military authorities.
“We found that we had no real choice, and that we could not put our employees’ lives at risk,” the company said, adding that no individuals have been charged or are currently under investigation.
However, the raid follows years of pressure from human rights organizations. Earlier this year, a Swedish non-profit filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Telenor Myanmar shared call logs and location data of suspected political opponents of the junta. The lawsuit claims this data sharing led to the execution of at least one prominent activist.
Sanctioned Equipment Transfer
Beyond the alleged data sharing, police are investigating the sale of Telenor’s Myanmar business itself. According to police statements, the transaction involved the transfer of “sanctioned surveillance equipment.” Investigators are probing whether the company failed to obtain necessary permission from Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the transaction.
Activist groups have welcomed the raid. Justice For Myanmar, an organization that has worked with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) to present evidence to Norwegian investigators, said the move was a long time coming.
“We welcome the decisions of Norwegian police to finally open investigations into Telenor for their violations of Norwegian and international law in Myanmar,” Yadanar Maung, a spokesperson for the group, told Reuters.
Maung noted that the organization had extensively documented Telenor’s transfer of spyware to a military-linked company. “We hope this will finally lead to accountability for the harms Telenor has caused Myanmar people through its conduct and its dangerous divestment,” she said.
The Myanmar embassy in Oslo did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
