Norwegian authorities have charged Telenor ASA, the majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company, over suspected sanctions breaches and alleged complicity in crimes against humanity in Myanmar.
Police also searched Telenor’s Fornebu headquarters near Oslo on September 15 during the investigation.
The case concerns Telenor’s former Myanmar operations after the military seized power in 2021. Since the coup, the junta has killed at least 8,399 civilians and pro-democracy activists, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
Authorities are examining customer data disclosures and sanctioned surveillance equipment transferred during Telenor’s exit, with Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service and PST security service handling the investigation.
Police said Telenor Myanmar repeatedly provided historical customer traffic data to Myanmar’s military authorities, and investigators are assessing whether those disclosures supported abuses against civilians following the military takeover.
Telenor said its employees faced serious risks if the company rejected military orders, with media relations director David Fidjeland stressing the company had “no real choice”.
The company said workers risked imprisonment, torture, or execution if they refused orders from the military junta, and that it acted in protection of its employees. Telenor has supported extensive documents and information to Norwegian prosecutors, per their statement, and pledged to continue cooperating with investigators.
The investigation also covers Telenor’s 2022 sale of its Myanmar branch to M1 group, the controversial investment firm owned by former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Namely, whether the transaction transferred surveillance equipment covered by Norwegian sanctions, and if the company required government approval before completing the transfer.
Telenor completed its exit from Myanmar in March 2022, after operating through a period of growing political pressure.
The current case follows complaints from human rights groups Justice For Myanmar and ICJ Norway, which alleged in December 2024 that the company had breached Norwegian sanctions by maintaining sanctioned surveillance equipment in Myanmar and transferring it to a military-linked buyer when it exited the country in 2022.
After that complaint was rejected without investigation, the groups filed a further complaint in October 2025, extending it to allege that Telenor had aided and abetted crimes against humanity by sharing sensitive customer data with 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.
“Extensive documentation showing Telenor’s transfer of spyware and the sharing of sensitive data with the illegal military junta was shared with the police, which clearly demonstrated the complicity of the company and its senior executives,” added Yadanar Maung, Justice for Myanmar spokesperson.
“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.”
The case now places renewed legal scrutiny on Telenor’s withdrawal from Myanmar after the 2021 military coup, while raising broader questions about corporate obligations when authorities demand access to sensitive customer information.
Norwegian authorities have not announced charges against any Telenor executives or employees.
Featured image: Store of Norwegian telco Telenor in downtown Yangon, Myanmar, one of first three companies offering a cellphone network in the country.
Source: Remko Tanis via Flickr
Author: Remko Tanis
Creative Commons Licenses
