Ericsson has breached the agreement

Sweden's Ericsson has been ordered to pay a fine of more than $206 million for violating an agreement with the US Department of Justice. This was reported in a statement posted on the agency's official website on Friday.

"Ericsson breached the deferred prosecution agreement, particularly the provisions of the cooperation and disclosure agreement," the document said. Ericsson failed to fully provide factual information and evidence relating to corruption schemes in Djibouti and China, as well as to disclose details of activities in Iraq that may have fallen under anti-corruption law violations. "These errors prevented the US from pursuing charges against specific individuals and taking key investigative steps," the DOJ summarised.

2019 saw the signing of a contract between Ericsson and the US agency charged with looking into any violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The business was discovered to have employed third-party agents and consultants between 2000 and 2016 to bribe government representatives and manage illicit cash in Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Kuwait. These agents were employed under fraudulent agreements, and they were compensated with phony invoices that weren't legally recorded in the books. For this, the corporation agreed to retain an independent compliance review for three years in exchange for paying a fine of more than $520 million.

"Ericsson has entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Justice to get its operations in order. The company's breach of its obligations indicates that it has not learned its lesson and will now have to pay a heavy price," said US Attorney Andre Damian Williams.

In addition to paying the fine, the company must also plead guilty to the original charges of corruption and violation of the FCPA. Ericsson will have to serve probation until June 2024 and extend the term of the independent compliance monitor for another year.