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The head of the World Economic Forum has announced his resignation following revelations about his past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.

Getting into it: Børge Brende, who became president and CEO of the World Economic Forum in 2017 after serving as Norway’s foreign minister, said he had decided to step down “after careful consideration,” adding, “My time here, spanning 8½ years, has been profoundly rewarding,” and that he believed “now is the right moment for the Forum to continue its important work without distractions.”

His resignation followed the release of DOJ files revealing that he attended three business dinners with Jeffrey Epstein in 2018 and 2019 and exchanged emails and text messages with him, including at least one dinner at Epstein’s New York home shortly before the financier’s 2019 arrest. Brende said he was “completely unaware of Epstein’s past and criminal activities” and maintained that “these dinners, and a few emails and SMS messages, were the extent of my interactions with him,” adding that he would never have engaged with Epstein had he known of his background and that he regretted not conducting more thorough due diligence.

In response to the disclosures, the World Economic Forum launched an independent review conducted by outside counsel to examine Brende’s ties to Epstein. The organization later said the investigation found no “additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed.”

Brende’s departure comes amid widening fallout from the Epstein files, which have ensnared political, royal, and business elites across multiple countries. In Norway, former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland has been charged with aggravated corruption linked to his connections to Epstein, while diplomat Mona Juul and her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, have faced charges and investigations; Crown Princess Mette-Marit has publicly apologized for her association.

In the United Kingdom, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, and former diplomat Peter Mandelson have been arrested over alleged crimes connected to their financial relationships with Epstein.