Telenor charged in Norway over alleged complicity in crimes against humanity in Myanmar

By Admin 16 Sep 2026

DMG Newsroom

16 September 2026, Yangon

Norwegian authorities have charged telecommunications giant Telenor ASA in two separate cases linked to its former operations in Myanmar, including alleged complicity in crimes against humanity and violations of Norwegian sanctions legislation.

Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) and Police Security Service (PST) announced on September 15 that they had launched separate investigations into Telenor ASA, with the company formally charged in both cases.

Kripos said its investigation concerns alleged complicity in crimes against humanity between the military coup on February 1, 2021, and the completion of the sale of Telenor Myanmar Ltd. on March 25, 2022.

According to Kripos, Telenor Myanmar repeatedly handed over customers’ historical traffic data to the military regime during that period, while the regime was committing widespread abuses against parts of the civilian population.

The separate PST investigation concerns an alleged violation of Norway’s sanctions legislation. Authorities said the sale of Telenor Myanmar included sanctioned surveillance equipment without authorization from Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two agencies are cooperating because the investigations cover overlapping events and information. Acting on decisions by the Oslo District Court, PST and Kripos also conducted a joint search of Telenor ASA’s headquarters at Fornebu in Oslo on September 15.

Justice For Myanmar (JFM) and ICJ Norway welcomed the investigations, which followed a complaint they filed with Norwegian police on December 19, 2024, alleging that Telenor violated Norwegian sanctions between 2018 and 2022.

According to their latest press release, the initial complaint was rejected without investigation. JFM and ICJ Norway then filed a further complaint with a higher prosecutorial authority on October 10, 2025, expanding it to include alleged aiding and abetting of crimes against humanity over Telenor’s sharing of sensitive data with the military junta.

The organisations alleged that Telenor maintained sanctioned surveillance equipment in Myanmar, transferred such equipment as part of the March 2022 sale of its Myanmar operations and provided sensitive customer data to the junta.

“We have for a long time awaited a serious and independent police investigation, and we are happy that this now seems to be the case,” said Terje Einarsen, head of the board of ICJ Norway.

JFM spokesperson Yadanar Maung also welcomed the investigations, saying documentation concerning Telenor’s alleged transfer of surveillance technology and sharing of sensitive data had been provided to Norwegian police.

“Telenor must be held fully accountable for the harm it caused, including in aiding and abetting the junta’s arbitrary arrests, torture, killings and executions through knowingly providing it with personal data,” Maung said.

Telenor has said that following the February 2021 military takeover it assessed directives from Myanmar authorities for their legal basis, human rights impact, necessity and proportionality, while raising concerns about human rights and the rule of law.

The company has also said it decided to leave Myanmar after concluding that continued operations would require Telenor Myanmar to activate interception equipment for use by Myanmar authorities that was subject to Norwegian and international sanctions.

The Norwegian investigations remain ongoing, and the charges do not constitute a finding of guilt against Telenor.