Ericsson Pleads Guilty in New York District Court to Breaching DPA in FCPA Case
Ericsson pleaded guilty to breaching its 2019 deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ relating to its violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company admitted to violating the FCPA and agreed to pay over $206 million in criminal penalties during a proceeding at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Bloomberg reported (U.S. v. Ericsson, S.D.N.Y. # 19-00884).
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From 2000 to 2016, the Swedish telecom giant used third-party agents and consultants to bribe government officials and manage slush funds in Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Kuwait. Ericsson entered into the DPA in 2019 to settle the charges, agreeing to pay over $520 million and establish an independent compliance monitoring program for three years.
The company later breached the DPA by failing to disclose all factual information related to the Djibouti and China schemes, along with other potential FCPA anti-bribery violations, DOJ said earlier this month (see 2303030031).