Swedish telecom Ericsson has agreed to a one-year monitorship extension with the DOJ and SEC following its $1 billion FCPA settlement in 2019.
On Wednesday, the company agreed to a fourth year of monitorship, after the 2019 DPA required a monitor for three years to satisfy the settlement. The new monitorship term will end in June 2024, the company said in a statement.
In March, the company said the DOJ had notified it that it had breached the DPA by “failing to make subsequent disclosure related to the investigation post-DPA.”
In this week’s statement, the company said it remains committed to cooperating with the DOJ in “connection with the resolution of the breach notification.”
“We have made significant progress in changing our culture and implementing an enhanced compliance framework and system of internal controls, and we will use this additional time to ensure these improvements are ingrained in our organization, our daily interactions and the way we do business,” CEO Börje Ekholm said Wednesday.
In 2019, the DOJ charged Ericsson with conspiracies to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery, books and records, and internal controls provisions.
The company created slush funds that it used to bribe officials via intermediaries in Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Kuwait.
At the time, the DOJ’s Brian Benczkowski said Ericsson’s corruption “involved high-level executives and spanned 17 years and at least five countries, all in a misguided effort to increase profits.”
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