WEF head resigns amid investigation into contacts with Epstein

The President and CEO of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Børge Brende, announced his resignation after a scandal erupted around his contacts with financier Jeffrey Epstein and the forum leadership initiated an independent review, Reuters reports.

Interest in Brenda’s figure intensified after the publication of materials from the US Department of Justice, from which it follows that he had dinner with Epstein three times and maintained correspondence with him in 2018-2019. Brende himself stated that he was not aware of Epstein’s criminal history at the time of the first contacts and regrets that he did not conduct a more thorough check.

A statement from the co-chairs of the board of trustees was published on the WEF website, stating that the external legal review was completed and did not reveal any additional problems beyond the already known contacts.

Alois Zwinggi has been appointed interim president and CEO of the WEF, and the board of trustees will begin the process of searching for a permanent leader.

Earlier, the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung wrote that Brende sent a letter to the board of trustees, calling his meetings with Epstein a “mistake.” Publications indicated a friendly tone of correspondence between them in 2018-2019.