Norway Weaponizes its $2 Trillion Wealth Fund Boycotting Caterpillar
Norway boycotts Caterpillar through its $2 Trillion sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world. The divestment from U.S. construction giant Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT; market cap approx. USD 202 billion) is not based on any legal ruling or international mandate, but on a politically motivated push by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre ahead of the September 8, 2025 election.
Political Motive Behind Norway Boycotting Caterpillar
PM Støre, supported by “deputy” and finance minister Jens Stoltenberg (former NATO Secretary-General), is courting far-left parties; Rødt (Communist Party), SV (Socialist Left), and MDG (Green Party), to form a coalition of support. These groups demand a complete cut of investments and collaborations with Israel.
Previously, Støre blocked the King’s condolences to Israel after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks and delayed labeling Hamas as a terrorist organization, reluctantly acknowledging them as terrorists only after parliamentary pressure.
Together with Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, he also pushed for Norway becoming the first country to recognize a Palestinian state. A move widely viewed as a reward to Hamas rather than a peace overture.
By placing the narrative through the so-called Council on Ethics, the government cloaks this boycott as ethical rather than political.
Facts from the Council on Ethics: Why Norway Boycotts Caterpillar (July 2, 2025)
- According to the Council on Ethics report dated July 2, 2025 (but not published until Aug. 24, 2025, after the Fund had sold out its position):
- As of end-2024, the Government Pension Fund Global held NOK 24.4 billion in Caterpillar shares, roughly USD 2.3 billion, representing a 1.23 percent ownership stake.
- At the time, this made the Fund one of the top 10 largest investors in Caterpillar.
- The Ethics Council explicitly aims to signal other investors to follow suit and divest, highlighting the grave seriousness when both political motives and compromised ethics are at play.
- Full report: Council on Ethics – Caterpillar Inc. or [HERE]
Caterpillar vs. Equinor Market Caps: Why Norway Boycotts Caterpillar
| Company | NYSE Ticker | Market Cap (Aug 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Caterpillar | CAT | ~USD 202 billion |
| Equinor | EQNR | ~USD 62.5 billion |
Council on Ethics Hypocrisy in Norway’s Caterpillar Boycott
The vice chair, Siv Helen Rygh Torstensen, was implicated in a corruption scandal involving Equinor (formerly Statoil, NYSE: EQNR). As VP Legal & Corporate, she secretly employed Judge Lars Ole Sikkeland as legal counsel [HERE] while he was serving as a judge in a case brought by my company, Biofuel AS, against Statoil.
Only insiders and judicial superiors knew of this conflict of interest, my company Biofuel AS (plaintiff) did not.
During the next 4.5 months, Sikkeland repeatedly ruled against us, including blocking our request for the name of Diligence International LLC, the firm used to fabricate corruption claims. Statoil’s Frame Agreement No. 4600007848 with Diligence [HERE]
For more information Search: “statoil employed judge”
The result was devastating: Biofuel AS went bankrupt, and over 400 Ghana-based employees lost their jobs.
We then sued Norway for denying us a fair trial. The Oslo City Court [case 14-125062TVI-OTIR/08] ruled that there had been a violation of Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees everyone the right to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law.
Deputy Judge Lars Ole Sikkeland was, during the period from around July 1 to around November 10, 2012, disqualified from handling case no. 11-108237PRI-STAV at Stavanger District Court, which violated the plaintiffs’ rights under Article 6(1) of the ECHR.
It turns out the “deep socialist state” is alive and well, working in the shadows. Under Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg (the same one who later became NATO Secretary General, and now serves as Minister of Finance under Støre), protecting the reputation of state-owned Equinor (formerly Statoil) was considered more important than the very survival of the startup Biofuel AS and the livelihoods of its founders. When the Court of Appeal finally got the case, the system simply bent the rules to shield the state and its oil giant.
The two blatantly contradictory texts from the very same Borgarting Court of Appeal ruling [15-145784ASD-BORG/02] make no sense at all, unless they were dictated by Norway’s deep state.
In this decision, the Court of Appeal has particularly emphasized that the losing parties had grounds to have the case heard because the District Court of Stavanger’s handling of the annulment case was objectionable, that the case raised difficult legal issues, including that the final basis for dismissing the claim for a declaratory judgment was only presented to the Court of Appeal shortly before the appeal hearing, and the imbalance of power between the parties.
The Court of Appeal adds that the losing parties also had a strong need to clear themselves of the corruption suspicions, which were based on a purely preliminary report and which, in any case, have not been substantiated afterward.
The whisper of Norway’s deep state was enough, and the Borgarting Court of Appeal delivered the verdict they wanted.
JUDGMENT
- The claim for a declaratory judgment regarding violation of the Convention is dismissed by the courts. The District Court’s judgment, section 1 of the conclusion, is annulled.
- Apart from this, the appeal from Ole Martin Kolnes, Steinar Kolnes, Arne Helvig, Solar Harvest Holding AS, and Solar Harvest Limited Ghana is rejected.
- As legal costs for the Court of Appeal, Ole Martin Kolnes, Steinar Kolnes, Arne Helvig, Solar Harvest Holding AS, and Solar Harvest Limited Ghana shall, jointly and severally, pay NOK 50,000 – fifty thousand – to the State, represented by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, within two weeks from the service of this judgment.
- As legal costs for the District Court, Ole Martin Kolnes, Steinar Kolnes, Arne Helvig, Solar Harvest Holding AS, and Solar Harvest Limited Ghana shall, jointly and severally, pay NOK 50,000 – fifty thousand – to the State, represented by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, within two weeks from the service of this judgment.
Judges: Jørgen F. Brunsvig, Hedda Remen, Lars Edvard Landsverk
Now the big question, would the Norwegian supremecourt will be indipendant, or controlled by the Norwegian deep-state as well?
In the same way as the Court of Appeal, the committee finds it unnecessary to take a position on whether it is at all possible to obtain a declaratory judgment for human rights violations committed during the judicial handling of a case that has been finally decided. In any event, a genuine need for such a judgment must be demonstrated, cf. the Dispute Act § 1-3, second paragraph. No such need appears to have been demonstrated, and the committee therefore finds it clear that this part of the appeal cannot succeed. The appeal against the dismissal decision is therefore rejected pursuant to the Dispute Act § 30-9, second paragraph.
The respondent has claimed legal costs of a total of NOK 14,500 for the appeal against the Court of Appeal’s dismissal decision, the appeal against the judgment, and the appeal against the decision on legal costs.The respondent’s legal costs related to the appeal against the dismissal decision have been included in the committee’s decision in case no. 2016/1719 [HR-2016-2274-U].
The decision is unanimous.
The appeal is rejected.Conclusion
The appeal is rejected.
Supreme Judges: Jens Edvin Andreassen Skoghøy, Hilde Indreberg and Ingvald Falch.
If anyone still doubts it, we lost everything: about NOK 107 million in share value and over 400 jobs, most of them local Ghanaians with almost no social safety net. And we, the founders, lost everything too.
After an unfair trial, we weren’t even allowed the basic right to know if the trial was unfair.
This corruption case has since been reported to the U.S. DOJ Whistleblower Program (Case No. 20241202-0001).
Today, Siv Helen Rygh Torstensen, who orchestrated the corruption scheme to protect Equinor/Statoil’s image, still holds a powerful seat on the Council on Ethics.
She is also still Executive Vice President for Legal & Compliance (LEG) at Equinor, a direct link that could put the company under serious scrutiny when seeking funding in U.S. markets.
A Pattern of Corporate Abuse Behind Norway’s Caterpillar Boycott
Equinor/Statoil has a troubling history:
- Horton case
- Angola case (government attempts to suppress details)
- False corruption allegations targeting several startups
The Biofuel case, is not the only case where Statoil used fabricated corruption accusition to terminate signed contracts. In 2016, they again used Diligence International LLC to falsely accuse Norsk Helikopter Service, enabling Statoil to cancel a NOK 225 million SAR contract and evade compensation.
Judicial proceedings, dubbed the “Statoil court”, consistently sided with Statoil.
Telenor’s Burma Scandal and the Hypocrisy of Norway’s Caterpillar Boycott
Norway’s state-controlled companies reveal a wider pattern of hypocrisy. In Myanmar (Burma), after the military junta seized power, Telenor chose not only to exit but to hand over customer phone records to the junta. These records were used to track down opposition figures, many of whom were arrested, tortured, and even executed.
Adding insult to injury, Telenor’s CEO Sigve Brekke was caught having falsified his CV, lying about his academic credentials, yet he remains in charge without consequences. This scandal underscores the deeply rooted double standards within Norway’s Labour Party and its state-controlled enterprises.
Questionable Legal Ground as Norway Boycotts Caterpillar
The Ethics Council’s official reasoning states:
“The basis for this case is that bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar are being used by Israeli authorities in the widespread unlawful destruction of Palestinian property. In the Council’s assessment, there is no doubt that Caterpillar’s products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law… the Council considers there to be an unacceptable risk that Caterpillar is contributing to serious violations of individuals’ rights in war or conflict situations.”
These accusations are unfounded and rest on political interpretation, not legal judgment.
Moreover, Caterpillar is a NYSE-listed company three times larger than Equinor.
By making such accusations, the Council of Ethics exposes itself, the Norwegian Wealth Fund, and even Equinor, to potential legal action in U.S. courts.
Unlike in Norway, where Torstensen was able to manipulate a compromised court system to brand Biofuel AS and Norsk Helicopter Service as “corrupt,” a U.S. court battle with Caterpillar and its shareholders will be an entirely different game.
Legal Analysis:
The Council on Ethics released its report on Sunday, August 24, 2025, and by Monday and Tuesday Caterpillar’s stock had declined more than 1%, while the broader industrial sector ETF (XLI) actually rose slightly over the same period. This divergence leaves little doubt: the drop was Caterpillar-specific and directly tied to the Norwegian divestment announcement.
For Caterpillar’s investors, the timing is critical. Even a 1% move in a $200+ billion market cap company represents billions of dollars in lost value. For those trading on margin, the sudden drop could trigger forced liquidations and margin calls, multiplying losses many times over.
In U.S. courts, where Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) is listed, this sequence could be grounds for a lawsuit against Norway’s Council on Ethics and potentially the Norwegian state itself. The Council’s politically motivated decision inflicted measurable financial harm on a U.S.-listed company and its shareholders, opening the door to claims of market manipulation, negligent misrepresentation, and damages.
👉 The message is clear: this was not ethics, it was politics with a price tag.
And that price should be paid back in court.
Conclusion: Norway Boycotts Caterpillar for Politics, Not Ethics
The Labour Party’s Caterpillar boycott is framed as a moral stand, but beneath it lies a strategy to appease anti-Israel factions before the 2025 election on Sep. 8th 2025.
The hypocrisy is glaring: a Council on Ethics compromised by corruption, a Labour Party backing state-owned enterprises involved in scandals like Equinor and Telenor, and political leaders who weaponize Norway’s $2-trillion fund for survival.
This is not ethics. It is politics dressed in the language of morality, while exposing Norway’s own compromised institutions to international scrutiny.
This isn’t an ethical stand, it’s ethics weaponized for political survival!
Author:
Steinar Vigdel Kolnes
e steinar@kolnes.com
p +47 90042374