The spy agency tried several times to get a meeting with the Ministry of Defense – wanted financial support

As news has previously told, the spy-accused Norwegian in his 30s asked for help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway to get his company back on its feet. news has now obtained access to e-mails he sent to the Ministry of Defense in the summer and autumn of 2023. There he requests several times for a meeting with the ministry to announce funding for research into security and defense policy. On the copy of the e-mails was Sophie Matlary, daughter of the well-known political scientist Janne Haaland Matlary. “We have solid expertise” “Hello, I wonder if it is still possible to participate in the information meeting about the call for tenders on 19 October.” This is what the man now accused of spying wrote to an employee in the Ministry of Defense (FD) in September last year. In July of that year, he had already expressed an interest in a meeting with the ministry. In 2023, the ministry changed its practice, and stopped holding joint information meetings regarding grant announcements. The accused is told that there will be no such meeting, and that the ministry will send information in writing to those interested. The now accused man replies: “Our company has never previously collaborated with or applied for a grant from FD. This is therefore something completely new for us. On the other hand, we are confident that we have solid expertise, and a platform with excellent international experts, which strongly positions us to carry out research with support from FD with a focus on developments in international relations that affect/will affect Norwegian interests. In connection with this, we are wondering whether it might be possible for us to present ourselves physically for a conversation about the scheme this time? Alternatively, we wonder if it is possible to have an online meeting with the same theme?” The Ministry of Defense is housed in the same building as the Prime Minister’s office in central Oslo. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB He is again informed that the ministry will not set up meetings with individual actors about the call for tenders. An academic news has been in contact with, who wrote several reports for the accused’s company, says that the accused in 2022 gave the impression that the reports would be supported by the Ministry of Defence. The ministry states in a covering letter that the accused’s company never applied for money through the grant scheme, and that they would not have received any money anyway. The company is not on the Research Council’s list of approved research organisations, which is a requirement to receive a grant from the Ministry of Defence. – The communication between the case manager and the actor was by e-mail and was exclusively about factual information related to the R&D grant scheme, says press officer Brage Berglund in the Ministry of Defense to news. Matlary: Didn’t know about e-mails Janne Haaland Matlary is a well-known Norwegian political scientist. Among other things, she has been State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When news talks to her daughter Sophie Matlary on Friday, she says that she was not aware that she was a copy of the e-mails to the Ministry of Defence. – He has used my email to legitimize his case and make it look like we have a company. In any case, I have not been informed of any collaboration with FD if he has had it, says Sophie Matlary to news. She says she has known the accused through politics as someone you can laugh with and talk openly with about various topics. – When you meet people, you don’t immediately think that they have a motive to exploit or use you. Maybe I should think about it more, says Matlary. She says she remembers him mentioning applications for research funding, but she doesn’t think anything came of it. The accused therefore did not receive funds from the Ministry of Defense either. – I see the picture much more clearly now, from the outside. Matlary believes that he thought that in order to gain entry into the Ministry of Defence, it would be appropriate to bring along the daughter of someone who works with the Ministry of Defence. Matlary was previously listed as a co-founder of the man’s company. She tells VG that she was not aware of this herself. Facsimile: news Sophie Matlary was previously listed as co-founder of the accused’s company on the company’s website. To VG, Matlary believes that she was not aware that she was presented as a co-founder, and that she did not help found the company. – We discussed continuously whether I should become part of the company as an expert, but nothing was decided. The question just disappeared by itself. Then some time passed, and then he just brought me up anyway, she told the newspaper last week. Denies criminal responsibility The Norwegian was arrested by PST at Oslo Airport on Monday 1 July. He was then on his way home from a trip to China. The PST has charged him with attempted gross intelligence activities for the benefit of China. Senior adviser Eirik Veum has previously informed news that the man did not want to be questioned. The man’s defender, Marius Dietrichson, does not want to comment on the information in this case. He has previously told news that his client denies criminal guilt. Published 17.07.2024, at 07.06



ttn-69