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Ericsson’s internal report on Iraq bribery ‘insufficient’: US DoJ

Swedish telecoms company Ericsson said on Wednesday that US authorities have found its disclosures about an internal inquiry into its conduct in Iraq, including suspected bribes to the Islamic State group, "insufficient".

Ericsson's internal report on Iraq bribery 'insufficient': US DoJ
File photo of Ericsson's CEO Börje Ekholm. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

The news from the telecom company sent shares tumbling more than 10 percent as the Stockholm stock exchange opened.

The company’s value had already taken a beating in recent weeks over the anticipated publication of a media investigation coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

It revealed an internal Ericsson 2019 investigation that was never made public, identifying possible corruption over many years in the group’s Iraqi operations, including links to Islamic State.

The revelations were published in the media on Sunday, but Ericsson had previously released statements addressing the claims.

Ericsson had already paid one billion dollars to the US Department of Justice to close a case of corruption in five countries, as part of a “deferred prosecution agreement” (DPA).

The Stockholm-based company revealed last month that it had already handed over its internal investigation on Iraq to US authorities.

But the Department of Justice (DoJ) informed Ericsson on Tuesday “The disclosure made by the company prior to the DPA about its internal investigation into conduct in Iraq in the period 2011 until 2019 was insufficient,” the telecom giant said in a statement.

In addition, the DoJ determined the company had “breached the DPA” by failing to make further disclosures related to the investigation after the agreement was reached.

Ericsson said it was “in communication with the DoJ” about the case and looking to resolve the issue.

“At this stage it is premature to predict the outcome of this matter,” the company said.

Since the revelations first came to light, Ericsson shares have lost nearly a third of their value.

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STRIKES

Swedish union slams Tesla for bringing in foreign strike breakers

Tesla is allegedly bringing in workers from countries such as the UK, Ireland and Portugal to fill the gaps left by striking employees in Sweden.

Swedish union slams Tesla for bringing in foreign strike breakers

Twenty-four workers from other European countries have on 41 occasions since February been flown in to work at one of Tesla’s service centres in Sweden, reports trade union news site Dagens Arbete, citing public documents from the Work Environment Authority.

IF Metall, Sweden’s metalworkers union, launched a full-scale strike against Tesla in October, demanding that the US car manufacturer sign a collective bargaining agreement. Several other unions in Sweden have also launched solidarity action against Tesla in response.

The fact that Tesla is bringing in people from other countries shows that the industrial action is having an effect, argues Peter Lydell, an ombudsman for IF Metall. He criticised the company for using strike breakers, a practice that hasn’t happened in Sweden since the 1930s.

“Sometimes we see them arriving by taxi and carrying suitcases. Or they get picked up by someone at Arlanda and go directly to the garage,” he told Dagens Arbete, which is affiliated with but editorially independent from IF Metall and the GS-facket and Pappers unions.

It writes that strike breakers have so far been brought in from the following countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, UK and the Netherlands.

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