Ericsson and its CEO and CFO are being sued in a class-action lawsuit in the US. They allegedly misled shareholders about the bribery in Iraq in which the company may have financed IS.
The case revolves around the payment of bribes to various intermediaries in Iraq in the period 2011-2019. This would have happened in combination with alternative transport routes through IS territory, making it possible that Ericsson indirectly financed the terror group.
That is now getting a legal tail in the US. There, a New York law firm is suing, alleging that Ericsson has misled investors, among other things, by exaggerating to the extent that it has reduced the organization’s use of bribes.
Ericsson paid more than $1 billion in 2019 to settle a series of bribery cases. The company is said to have been guilty of this in China, Vietnam and Djibouti. But recently, an internal investigation became known that indicates that unusual payments have also been made in Iraq.
Ericsson confirmed to Reuters that certain executives were named defendants but did not comment further.
