Ericsson to Pay More Than $1 Billion After Pleading Guilty in Bribery Case
December 06 2019 - 6:12PM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Armental
Ericsson AB (ERIC) pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and
agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve a foreign bribery
case, according to the Justice Department.
Federal prosecutors accused the Swedish telecom giant of
engaging in a campaign of corruption in five countries over 17
years.
"Through slush funds, bribes, gifts, and graft, Ericsson
conducted telecom business with the guiding principle that 'money
talks'," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement.
The resolution covers Ericsson's criminal conduct in Djibouti,
China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Kuwait, the Justice Department
said.
Under the terms of the resolution, filed Friday in Manhattan
federal court, Ericsson entered into a deferred prosecution
agreement, allowing it to avoid a criminal indictment on charges
Ericsson conspired to violate the anti-bribery, books and records,
and internal controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act. As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, Ericsson agreed
to continue to cooperate with the Justice Department, enhance its
compliance program, and to retain an independent compliance monitor
for three years.
Deferred prosecution agreements are a key tool used by federal
prosecutors in policing corporate wrongdoing, forestalling a
criminal conviction provided specific requirements are met.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 06, 2019 17:57 ET (22:57 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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