Ericsson said an internal investigation in 2019 found serious breaches of its compliance rules in Iraq, including evidence of corruption-related misconduct and improper use of sales agents and consultants.
The telecom equipment group said it was working with external counsel to review the findings resulting from the investigation to identify any additional measures that it should take.
Ericsson said the investigation resulted in several employees exiting the company, other remedial actions being taken, and termination of a number of third-party relationships.
The company said the internal investigating team had identified payments to intermediaries and the use of alternate transport routes in connection with circumventing Iraqi Customs, at a time when militant organisations, including Islamic State, controlled some transport routes.
The investigators could not determine the ultimate recipients of these payments or identify that any Ericsson employee was directly involved in financing such organisations, the company said in a statement.
In 2019, Ericsson had agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) to pay more than $1 billion to resolve a different series of probes into corruption, including the bribing of government officials that took place over many years in countries including China, Vietnam and Djibouti.
