Peace prize to Venezuela's Machado: Why is WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange suing Nobel panel? Criminal complaint filed

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has filed a criminal complaint in Sweden accusing senior figures linked to the Nobel Foundation of serious economic crimes and of facilitating war crimes, following the award of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.

The complaint, submitted to Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority (Ekobrottsmyndigheten) and the War Crimes Unit (Krigsbrottsenheten), names around 30 individuals, including Nobel Foundation chair Astrid Söderbergh Widding and executive director Hanna Stjärne. Assange alleges breach of trust, gross misappropriation of funds, conspiracy, and the facilitation of war crimes and crimes against humanity.


In a statement shared by WikiLeaks on X, the organisation said Assange’s legal action is aimed at preventing the release of more than $1 million that Machado is set to receive as part of the award. The filing seeks an immediate freeze on the pending SEK 11 million ($1.18 million) prize transfer and calls for a full criminal investigation.



The complaint cites Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will, which stipulates that the Peace Prize be granted only to individuals who have “conferred the greatest benefit to humankind” by doing “the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” Assange argues that “The political decision of the Norwegian selection committee does not suspend the fiduciary duty of Swedish funds administrators,” adding that “Any disbursement contradicting this mandate constitutes misappropriation from the endowment.”

Assange’s filing contends that Machado’s public endorsement of US President Donald Trump and the administration’s military actions, which the complaint frames as contributing to war crimes, provides sufficient legal grounds for the Nobel Foundation to suspend all financial disbursements linked to the prize. “Alfred Nobel’s endowment for peace cannot be spent on the promotion of war,” Assange said, alleging that Machado “has continued to incite the Trump Administration to pursue its escalatory path” against Venezuela.

The complaint also cites precedent within the Nobel system, noting that Nobel Foundation officials exercised supervisory authority by withholding prize-related disbursements in 2018. Assange argues that, having previously intervened to halt payments, Nobel officials were legally obliged to do so again and that failure to intervene in the present case “incurs criminal liability” under Swedish law.

The filing explicitly invokes Sweden’s obligations under Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute, arguing that continued disbursement of Nobel funds, despite knowledge of Machado’s public positions, could amount to facilitating the crime of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Assange has asked authorities to seize internal records, including board minutes and financial documents, interrogate senior Nobel officials, and either pursue a domestic investigation or refer the matter to the International Criminal Court.

In October, Machado described her Nobel Peace Prize win as an “immense recognition” of her country’s struggle for democracy and dedicated the award to US President Donald Trump. In a post on X following the announcement, she wrote: “This immense recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to complete our task: to conquer Freedom. We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we have President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies to achieve Freedom and democracy. Venezuela will be free!”

Speaking to reporters in Oslo last week, hours after her daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf, Machado said: “I think that the actions of President Trump have been decisive… Now they start to understand that this is serious, and that the world is watching.” She declined to answer directly whether US military intervention was necessary to oust Maduro.

Assange warned that without intervention, the Peace Prize risks being “permanently converted from an instrument of peace into an instrument of war.”