The Swedish telecommunications company is one of about a hundred companies that have signed the World Economic Forum's initiative against corruption, but in early April they were removed from the list after doubts regarding the company's sincerity in improving business ethics.
The decision to exclude must have been made "after an internal discussion, which included the articles published in the press in recent weeks", writes Le Monde.
The company's reputation damaged
According to the newspaper, the exclusion is a direct result of the company's corruption and suspected bribes in Iraq to the terrorist group Islamic State, which, among other things, SVT's Mission Review revealed in February in collaboration with the journalist network ICIJ.
The fact that they are no longer on the list is also a sign that the company's reputation has been damaged so much that their presence in the collaboration is no longer considered appropriate, writes Le Monde.
This week, SVT has contacted Ericsson, which says that they refrain from commenting on the exclusion.
Affected the Annual General Meeting
The revelation of Ericsson's suspected bribery in Iraq also affected the company's general meeting at the end of March.
The company's CEO Börje Ekholm and the board were re-elected, but none of them were granted discharge.
"We have tried to clarify what happened without success.
And therefore vote against discharge from liability, ”said, among others, the shareholder Swedbank Robur before the vote.