The indictment from the State Prosecutors in Oslo paints a picture of a large, organized network. The eight defendants, led by a Norwegian-Ukrainian couple in their 50s and 30s, are charged under Section 315 of the Criminal Code. Over a year and a half, they are said to have promoted the prostitution of at least 150 women in at least 49 different apartments, distributed over 13 municipalities around in the country.
The indictment covers all stages of the “business” – everything from recruiting the women to accommodation, advertising and the use of telephone operators.
The case was discussed by NRK in July 2022, but the indictment was only brought out in June this year, and it is only now that the case has been scheduled. At the time NRK wrote about the case, only the woman in her 50s pleaded guilty.
Big incomes
– The prostitution business resulted in the sale of sexual services for a total of at least NOK 52 million, it says.
The network was led by the Norwegian-Ukrainian couple living outside Oslo, who received 50 percent of the income. Other participants in the network have been prosecuted for everything from transport from Eastern Europe, guarding and maintenance of apartments, and renting out apartments from their own company. Several of the names on the list of defendants are Eastern European, others are Norwegian.
Money laundering and abduction
A man in his 30s is accused, among other things, of subletting twelve apartments and then issuing false invoices for the rental conditions. These apartments, located in the center of Oslo, appear several times in the center of Oslo.
The married couple who led the network laundered income by buying houses, vehicles, jewellery, clothes and watches. At least one of the sex workers is said to have also been abducted and deprived of his mobile phone one day in 2022, another was seriously threatened in June 2021.
26 court days have been set aside for the case, which begins in the Oslo District Court on 3 December. Including a break for the Christmas holidays, it is scheduled to last until 20 January.
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