Overview: The Norwegian Nobel Committee says digital espionage is the most likely cause of a premature leak that revealed the 2025 Peace Prize winner hours before the Oslo announcement. Betting on Maria Corina Machado surged to about $2.2 million on October 10, triggering an investigation that included one of Norway's intelligence agencies. Officials say it remains unclear whether the breach came from an internal source or external spying, or whether the motive was profit or to undermine the prize; the committee is now tightening digital protections.
Digital Espionage Likely Exposed 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Winner — Committee Probes $2.2M Betting Spike
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks during a press conference in Oslo, Norway December 11, 2025. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
OSLO, Jan 30 — The Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Friday that digital espionage is the most likely explanation for the premature disclosure of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner's name, which surfaced hours before the scheduled announcement in Oslo.
Kristian Berg Harpviken, the committee's permanent secretary, told Reuters: "We have not been able to determine exactly what happened or who was behind the breach but we do believe that the digital domain still is the main suspect."
On October 10, an initial wager naming Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was followed rapidly by other bets, driving total wagers to about $2.2 million, Harpviken said. Machado's name had not been raised in advance by experts or the media, which heightened suspicion that the information leaked from a non-public source.
One of Norway's three intelligence agencies joined the inquiry to determine whether the breach stemmed from an internal leak or external digital spying — by criminal actors or a state. Investigators have not yet identified who was responsible or exactly how the information was disclosed.
The committee also said it could not establish whether the betting surge was intended to secure financial gain or to damage the Nobel Prize's credibility. Harpviken added that the committee has shifted its focus toward strengthening digital and operational safeguards to reduce the risk of similar incidents in future prize announcements.
Maria Corina Machado received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her opposition to dictatorship in Venezuela. She dedicates the award in part to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has publicly maintained that he deserved the prize himself.
Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; editing by Terje Solsvik and Alexander Smith.
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