OSLO, March 8 (Reuters) - The ethics watchdog of Norway's $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday it is investigating whether three companies in which the fund has invested are involved in financial crime.
The Council on Ethics for the Government Pension Fund Global in its annual report said two European firms and one Asian group were under scrutiny, without naming them or saying whether more companies were targeted.
The Norwegian fund is forbidden by parliament from investing in companies that produce nuclear weapons, landmines or tobacco, or that are implicated in crimes such as money laundering, tax evasion or human rights violations.
The watchdog said it had made a push last year to explore possible financial crimes among companies in the fund's portfolio.
"Follow up of individual companies will focus on the companies' work with risk assessments, and how risks are mapped, reduced and handled ... including the companies' due diligence assessments of new customers and business partners," it said.
The Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, typically follows the council's recommendations but sometimes, rather than immediately excluding them, puts companies on a watchlist to give them a set period of time to come up with a plan to change their behaviour, or face exclusion.
The fund, the world's largest stock market investor, owns 1.5% of all globally listed shares with stakes in some 9,200 companies.
