WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has filed a criminal complaint in Sweden against the Nobel Foundation, seeking to halt the release of more than $1 million in prize money to Venezuelan figure Maria Corina Machado over her controversial winning of the Nobel Peace Prize.

According to a statement published by WikiLeaks on X, formerly Twitter, Assange argued that Machado`s public backing of US President Donald Trump`s military and economic pressure on Venezuela violated the core principles set out in Alfred Nobel`s will for awarding the Peace Prize.

"Assange today filed a criminal complaint in Sweden accusing 30 individuals associated with the Nobel Foundation, including its leadership, of committing serious suspected crimes," the statement said.

Some of the violations were enumerated as "gross misappropriation of funds, facilitation of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the financing of the crime of aggression."

The complaint named Nobel Foundation Chair Astrid Söderbergh Widding and CEO Hanna Stjärne among those who were found culpable of the violations.

Assange contended that by awarding the prize to Machado, the foundation had transformed "an instrument of peace into an instrument of war." He argued that Machado was "categorically ineligible" for the award, citing her public endorsement of the US`s policies toward Venezuela.

As evidence, the complaint pointed to Machado`s remarks in a recent interview on CBS News` Face the Nation, in which she expressed support for Trump`s approach, including intensified sanctions and seizure of oil tankers.

"Look, I absolutely support President Trump`s strategy, and we, the Venezuelan people, are very grateful to him and to his administration, because I believe he is a champion of freedom in this hemisphere," Machado said during the interview.

Assange said Machado had repeatedly encouraged Washington to take an increasingly aggressive stance towards Venezuela, including what he described as the largest US military buildup since the Iraq war.

The filing challenged the planned disbursement of the prize`s 11 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.18 million, arguing that releasing the funds would amount to aggravated misappropriation.

It warned of a "real risk" that the money could be diverted in ways that indirectly financed "war crimes," potentially breaching Sweden`s obligations under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Assange is now asking Swedish authorities to freeze the transfer of the prize money, demand the return of the Nobel medal, and open a formal investigation into the Nobel Foundation.