Ericsson fined $1 billion for widespread corruption
The Swedish telecoms giant has agreed to settle a bribery allegation case spanning Asia and the Middle East. US authorities accused Ericsson of bribing government officials "through slush funds, gifts, and graft."
Ericsson agreed to pay $1.2 billion (€1.09 billion) to resolve a bribery case brought by US authorities, the Justice Department announced Friday.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the Swedish telecommunications firm with conspiracies to violate the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
An Ericsson subsidiary, Ericsson Egypt Limited, also pleaded guilty on Friday to a charge of conspiring to violate the FCPA.
As part of the settlement, Ericsson must pay a criminal penalty of over $520 million and a fine of approximately $540 million to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a related matter.