Ericsson Shareholders Further Rebuke Leadership After Corruption Probe

By Dominic Chopping

STOCKHOLM--Ericsson AB shareholders again used the company's annual general meeting to air their discontent at the company's handling of a probe into allegations of corruption in Iraq.

The Swedish telecommunications equipment maker came under pressure last year after it disclosed that an internal investigation had found evidence of historical corruption in Iraq. It was recently fined around $207 million by the U.S. Justice Department for the company's failure to properly disclose the 2019 investigation that left the company unable to determine if certain payments in the country fell into the hands of terror organizations.

The fine followed a $1 billion payment that Ericsson made to settle a U.S. corruption investigation amid charges of bribery and accounting violations in China, Djibouti, Indonesia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

At Wednesday's meeting, shareholders representing at least 10% of Ericsson shares voted against discharging most of the board and president from liability for the 2022 financial year, opening Chief Executive Borje Ekholm and the rest of the board to potentially be held personally liable for their actions.

Under Swedish law, if at least 10% of shareholders vote against discharging the board from liability with respect to their management, they can be sued by the company and its investors.

Shareholders also denied discharge of liability last year.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 30, 2023 05:03 ET (09:03 GMT)

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