Norwegian police said today that they are investigating telecommunications company Telenor on suspicion of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity in Myanmar following the military coup in the Southeast Asian country in 2021, Reuters news agency reports.
Investigators searched Telenor's headquarters in Oslo on Tuesday as part of a case that also includes suspicions of sanctions violations, the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service and the PST security service announced.
"Telenor Myanmar has repeatedly handed over past customer telecommunications traffic data to the military regime (...) at the same time that the regime was responsible for mass abuses against parts of the civilian population," the police said.
Telenor, which sold its operations in Myanmar after the coup and left the country completely in March 2022, said it was working closely with investigators and would do everything in its power to help shed light on the case.
Earlier this year, a Swedish nonprofit filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Telenor Myanmar shared phone call and location data of people suspected of being political opponents of the military junta, which, according to the lawsuit, led to the execution of at least one prominent activist.
"The military coup was a tragedy for the people of Myanmar, and we found ourselves in an impossible situation in which there were no good solutions," Telenor said in a statement provided to Reuters.
"Employees were threatened with imprisonment, torture or the death penalty if they did not comply with orders from military authorities. We concluded that we had no choice and could not endanger the lives of our employees," the company said.
Telenor added that no one has been charged or is under investigation.
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