(Bloomberg) — Ericsson AB is facing a preliminary investigation by the Swedish Prosecution Authority into suspected bribery in Iraq, the Swedish TT news agency reported on Wednesday.
The National Anti-Corruption Unit confirmed that the investigation is underway, but declined to provide more details given the preliminary nature of the probe, the news agency said, citing prosecutor Leif Gorts.
Earlier this month, the maker of 5G telecom-network gear indicated that it faces new fines related to its corruption scandal in Iraq and associated breach notices of its deferred prosecution agreement by the U.S. Department of Justice. The company faced a shareholder revolt at its annual general meeting in March when they voted against discharging Chief Executive Officer Borje Ekholm from legal liability.
Shares pared a gain in Stockholm after the news to close up 0.9% after earlier having gained as much as 2.9%.
Neither Ericsson nor the Swedish Prosecution Office were able to immediately comment when contacted by Bloomberg.
(Updates with attempts to contact company, Swedish Prosecution Authority in final paragraph)
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