Svetlana Pozhidaeva says she dreamed of a respectable job when she moved from Russia to the USA, but claims she was manipulated and abused by Jeffrey Epstein for more than ten years. She strongly criticizes Terje Rød-Larsen and the think tank he led from 2005 to October 2020, The International Peace Institute, alleging Epstein got her a job at IPI in the 2010s as just a facade that helped Epstein exploit her. According to NRK, Svetlana Pozhidaeva described IPI as crucial for Epstein's ability to conduct human trafficking with her across borders.
Pozhidaeva sent the statement to NRK just hours before the proposed mandate for the Norwegian Epstein investigation was announced on Friday. The mandate opens for the investigation commission to examine whether Norwegian tax money has contributed to human trafficking, with IPI having received 130 million kroner in support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The commission will not take a position on legal responsibility for individuals, according to the proposal.
It is obvious that IPI was crucial for Epstein's ability to conduct human trafficking with me across borders.
Rød-Larsen's lawyer John Christian Elden says his client strongly denies her accusations. According to NRK, John Christian Elden described it as understandable that Svetlana may feel bitterness and disappointment today, but emphasized that the circumstances she now describes were not known to Terje Rød-Larsen at the time this is alleged to have occurred. Rød-Larsen resigned as IPI leader in October 2020, at which time IPI stated in a statement that Rød-Larsen had received donations and loans from Epstein without the board's knowledge.
IPI called Epstein's crimes abhorrent and wrote that the thought of IPI being involved in any way with such a repugnant character is contrary to the institution's core values. In the Epstein files, there is a picture of a Norwegian Schengen visa issued to Pozhidaeva. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that the consulate general in New York received and processed a visa application from Pozhidaeva in 2012.
It is understandable that Svetlana today may feel both bitterness and disappointment. At the same time, it is important to be clear that the circumstances she now describes were not known to Terje Rød-Larsen at the time this is alleged to have occurred.
The Ministry writes that the visa practice for Russian citizens at that time was very liberal, with limited requirements for documentation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no indications that the case processing was carried out in any way other than what was then the practice for Russian applicants, or that others than the consulate general were involved in the case processing.