On Sunday, Uppdrag Granskning's sensational revelation that Ericsson paid cash for transports in the IS-controlled area in Iraq, money that probably went to IS.  

The responsibility for Ericsson's progress in the Caliphate for several years rests heavily on the board at that time, with Swedish business's most powerful in power Börje Ekholm, then CEO of Investor, Jacob Wallenberg and chairman Leif Johansson, former longtime Volvo CEO.  

Given the two latter's long experience of export business in all sorts of countries, it is striking that they chose to turn a blind eye to the terrorist sect IS and what it would mean to continue business as usual in 2014.

Cultural trip at the company

It was not until four years later, in 2018, with Börje Ekholm as the relatively new CEO, that Ericsson itself checked out what had happened.

And of course it was good.

Börje Ekholm talked a lot today before equity analysts about the "cultural journey" that he leads at Ericsson.

It is about everyone behaving legally and ethically ok, and that anyone who sees something else should alert about it.  

Without this cultural journey, IS payments would not have come to light at all, Börje Ekholm made it clear. 

That may be so, but what happened internally with the IS investigation goes, to say the least, across the cultural discourse.

It was completed on December 11, 2019. It was only a few days after Ericsson's settlement with the US Department of Justice regarding bribery in completely different countries, including Djibouti, China and Saudi Arabia.

Ignored in providing information

Ericsson was fined SEK 10 billion and promised to report information that emerged about bribes and other irregularities for several years to come.

This is to avoid prosecution.  

But now Börje Ekholm's Ericsson has nevertheless failed to provide information known about IS and Iraq to the Americans.  

Börje Ekholm became CEO of Ericsson in 2017, despite the fact that he had never before led a "real" company, but dealt with money and shareholdings.

There was a crisis in Ericsson, it was difficult to find a new CEO.

But he managed, as far as I can judge, very well to get acquainted with the global giant Ericsson's strategies and operational activities.

It indicates that he has his head on the shaft.  

Unlike previous bribery scandals

In addition, Börje Ekholm has lived and done business in the USA for many years.

When it comes to understanding how important it is to do as US authorities say in agreements like this, he should not have had any major difficulties.

In this case, the board can also be said to have good reasons to trust its CEO.  

But.

As we all know, one can end up in situations where the truth, if it comes out, means disaster, even if we tell it ourselves.

It may be where Börje Ekholm was, in December 2019, and later.  

Paying IS to build mobile networks is a completely different matter than bribing oneself in Djibouti.

Everyone probably thinks so, but especially the Americans of course.

Do not want to lose a huge deal

At the same time, Ericsson is building most of the US: 5G network.

The USA is Ericsson's largest market and accounts for almost a third of all sales.

It goes without saying that Ericsson for everything in the world - and for the profit and value of the share - does not want to be expelled from there.

But, now Börje Ekholm has put Ericsson in a situation where: 

 1. The Americans got to know anyway 

 2. There may still be new fines of billions because they were not told.  

The cultural journey has gone astray, you could say.

Nevertheless, the major owner Wallenbergs Investor has full confidence in tour guide Ekholm, it was announced today.

From this one can draw several conclusions.

But other shareholders may well be on the verge of acquiring a different opinion.