ALBAWABA - The United States Department of Justice found the Swedish-based Telecom Giant Ericsson guilty of federal bribery violations.
The telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm agreed to pay $206 million for violating a 2019 Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA).
IMPACT: Swedish telecom giant Ericsson has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $206m fine for breaching its deferred prosecution deal with US authorities by withholding information about its alleged misconduct in Iraq and other countries. #EricssonList https://t.co/8xvIUf3mF8
— ICIJ (@ICIJorg) March 7, 2023
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice said: "Ericsson will plead guilty to engaging in a long-running scheme to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes, falsifying books and records, and failing to implement reasonable internal accounting controls in multiple countries around the world."
However, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said that Ericsson "repeatedly failed to fully cooperate and failed to disclose evidence and allegations of misconduct in breach of the agreement."
https://t.co/ITVM4UzgaX “Beginning in 2000 until 2016, Ericsson used third-party agents ..to bribe government officials. Ericsson #Egypt pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging conspiracy to violate anti-bribery provisions of FCPA”
— Nina Tankina (@ninatankina) March 14, 2023
Why is that not a surprise?
From 2000 to 2016, the Swedish Telecom Giant used third-party agents and consultants to make bribe payments to government officials and to manage off-the-books slush funds in many countries including Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Kuwait.
Nevertheless, Ericsson also messed up in promptly reporting and disclosing evidence and allegations of conduct related to its business activities in Iraq.
