Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Norway to resign because of his relationship with China

The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Norway Jon Nicolaisen has resigned after the security agency refused to expand access to classified data, Reuters reported.

The agency said the decision was made due to the employee's relationship with China, especially since his wife is Chinese, while Nicolaisen informed that his wife is a permanent resident of China and financially dependent on him.

Although the security apparatus did not find any reason to doubt him personally, Nicolaisen stressed that the current situation does not make it possible for him to continue working in this position.

It should be noted that Nicolaisen's responsibilities at the central bank include overseeing the Norwegian Pension Fund, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, with assets estimated at $1.2 trillion.

Nicolaisen married his Chinese wife in 2010, and he was appointed to his current position in 2014 and in April 2020 his appointment was renewed. The central bank said the decision to step down would be effective immediately and that there was no replacement for Nicolaisen yet.