SVT's Assignment Review together with the journalist organization ICIJ revealed earlier this year the internal documents that Ericsson hid.
After the revelation, the stock appeared.
Denied discharge
Prior to Tuesday's AGM, owners, who represent over ten percent of the share capital, had said that they intend to deny the CEO and all or parts of the board discharge from liability.
Ten percent is what is required for the decision to go through.
The owners do not feel they have received enough information from management after the revelation about the Iraqi bribes.
At 5 pm - just over two hours into the meeting - the message came.
Ericsson's board and CEO are denied discharge.
At the same time, the board may remain in place, as proposed by the nomination committee.
Swedbank Robur, Cevian, Nordea Fonder, Första AP-fonden and Folksam were some of the major owners who voted against discharge.
Denial of discharge is a prerequisite for the company to be able to sue the board or parts of the board.
No answers about IS
Prior to the vote, there was a short Question Time.
But despite questions from shareholders about why the internal report was not communicated or how much money has benefited IS, no answers came.
Ericsson instead referred to the fact that the matter is still being investigated.
- We are limited in what we can say about the Iraq investigation and related issues.
And that's because of our cooperation with the US authorities and any legal disputes.
I really understand that this is frustrating, said CEO Börje Ekholm during the meeting.
The decision to hold the Annual General Meeting digitally was also questioned by the shareholders.
When asked if Ericsson's management had chosen to make the meeting digital in order to avoid difficult questions and debate, Börje Ekholm answered that the decision was made earlier during the pandemic.