FCPA / Justice Buries the Hatchet with Ericsson

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Swedish Telecoms giant and serial FCPA violator LM Ericsson signed a new deal with the Justice Department acknowleging further breaches of the deferred prosecution agreement it entered into for corruption in Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Kuwait.    

According to the documents, Ericsson withheld evidence relating to the China and Djibouti cases, as well as failed to report and disclose their illicit alliance with the Islamic State in Iraq uncovered last year. 

Ericsson will enter a guilty plea regarding previously deferred charges relating to conduct prior to 2017.   The new plea agreement calls for $207 million in additional fines and the previously announced extension of the independent compliance monitor until June 2024.

The announcement comes 12 months after the  disclosure that Justice intended to find it in violation of its 2019 Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published “The Ericsson List,” documenting the firm’s extensive dealings with the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq between 2011 and 2019.

In 2013 Ericsson disclosed that it was cooperating with U.S. authorities investigating bribery allegations, resulting in a $1 billion bribery settlement in 2019. That settlement contained no mention of Iraq.

Shareholders voted last March to hold CEO Börje Ekholm and the Board personally liable for the scandal.   “This resolution is a stark reminder of the historical misconduct that led to the DPA.  We have learned from that and we are on an important journey to transform our culture. To be a true industry leader, we must be a market and technology leader while also being a leader in how we conduct our business,” Ekholm said in a statement announcing the settlement.

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