By Supantha Mukherjee
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Ericsson informed the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) about an internal investigation into payments in Iraq when it signed a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) in 2019 to settle resolve separate corruption probes, sources familiar with the matter said.
The Swedish company’s shares fell 14% on Wednesday over concerns that the company might be subject to another fine by the DoJ.
One of Ericsson’s largest shareholders, Cevian Capital, told Reuters the company’s actions were “unacceptable” after disclosure that some payments made in Iraq may have reached militant organisations, including Islamic State.
“As we understand the situation, the DoJ was informed about the internal investigation at the time of the so-called Deferred Prosecution Agreement, and Ericsson losing almost SEK 50 billion in market value yesterday is a strong overreaction,” Cevian co-founder Christer Gardell said in a statement to Reuters.
The DoJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
An Ericsson spokesman said it does not comment on dialogue with the U.S. authorities under the terms of its DPA.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee, European Technology & Telecoms Correspondent, based in Stockholm. Editing by Jane Merriman)
