The US Department of Justice fines Ericsson the equivalent of SEK 2.2 billion related to a bribery scandal in Iraq.
After SVT’s review
Ericsson announced, after SVT’s Uppdrag Granskning began asking questions, in mid-February 2022 that bribes may have been paid to the terrorist sect Islamic State (IS) in Iraq.
It prompted American authorities to investigate the incident, which already had an investigation of Ericsson underway, according to a previous settlement. The events were also investigated in Sweden, but the Public Prosecutor’s Office dropped the preliminary investigation into suspected bribery.
Past corruption scandals
Ericsson has previously been involved in other corruption scandals. In an earlier settlement with American authorities – after it was established that Ericsson had not followed anti-corruption rules in several markets – the Swedish telecom manufacturer agreed to pay 10 billion kroner.
In the wake of the revelations, the board and CEO Börje Ekholm were denied discharge from liability at the annual general meeting in spring 2022, but everyone still remained in their positions.