Aktiespararna's General Counsel for the bribery suspicions: "Ericsson should have communicated this earlier"

Ericsson's share fell by 14.4 percent after the information that the company may have paid bribes to the terrorist organization IS.

According to Aktiespararna's General Counsel Sverre Linton, the accusations can lead to major consequences for the company.

- It is of course very serious.

Firstly because it shows that you may not have come as far as you might have wanted in the anti-corruption work within the company.

Secondly, because it seems that they have been involved in financing the worst type of terrorism, says Sverre Linton, General Counsel at Aktiespararna.

Investigated 2019 - never published

The information about a possible bribery was investigated internally by the company in 2019, but no information about the investigation ever came out then.

SVT's Assignment Review, in collaboration with the international journalist network ICIJ, has for a long time asked a long list of questions to Ericsson's management about their activities in Iraq.

Instead of giving any answers, the company chose to publish a press release on its website on Tuesday, in connection with the closure of the Stockholm Stock Exchange, with certain details from the investigation.

Sverre Linton is critical of how the company handled its own investigation.

- It is still unclear whether you have informed the authorities to the extent that you should have done.

There is much to suggest that Ericsson should have communicated this before, says Sverre Linton.

"Can have consequences for management"

Ericsson has previously been fined just over a billion for similar crimes.

How serious can this be for Ericsson's management?

- If it turns out that Ericsson has not taken measures despite the fact that they have been under scrutiny and received heavy fines, it can of course have consequences for the management.

If the information turns out to be correct, what would it mean for Ericsson in the future?

- First and foremost, there will be heavy fines, and secondly, Ericsson will again have to spend a lot of time and energy investigating these issues and assisting authorities and investigations.

Energy, time and resources that you may prefer to spend on your business.

- There are owners today where the ethical and socially sustainable is very important and then you may not want to be part of owning a company that has these problems, says Sverre Linton.