Ericsson AB said an internal investigation has uncovered “serious breaches of compliance rules” in its Iraq business.
The Swedish telecommunications-equipment company
ERIC,
ERIC.B,
on Tuesday said an internal investigation conducted in 2019 of compliance concerns in Iraq uncovered evidence of corruption-related misconduct and questionable payments made there.
The probe was conducted with external legal counsel and was triggered by unusual expense claims in Iraq dating back to 2018, Ericsson said.
This led to a detailed internal probe of the conduct of Ericsson’s employees, vendors and suppliers in Iraq between 2011 and 2019, which found serious breaches of its compliance rules and its code of business ethics, Ericsson said. The company said it identified the use of suppliers to make cash payments and the improper use of sales agents and consultants.
