STOCKHOLM, March 28,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today
announced that on March 28, 2024, the
independent compliance Monitor appointed by the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ) (in June of 2020 in connection with Ericsson's
resolution of historical violations of the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act (FCPA) violations) has certified that Ericsson's
anti-corruption compliance program has satisfied requirements and
is functioning effectively. This independent certification is a
condition to conclusion of the Monitorship and Plea Agreement,
currently expected to occur no later than June 2, 2024.
Ericsson's Chair of the Board of Directors, Jan Carlson, comments: "This certification is an
important and independent verification of Ericsson's significant
progress in strengthening its compliance and controls since
entering into the 2019 DOJ settlement. Ericsson's continued global
technology leadership and innovation, coupled with ethical decision
making and effective risk management, puts us in a very strong
competitive position. This marks a positive step towards completion
of the monitorship, which the Company expects at the same time as
the expiration of the term of the plea agreement, upon fulfillment
of the remaining obligations of that agreement."
The role of the independent Monitor over the past four years has
been to comprehensively review, assess, evaluate and test all
aspects of the company's global anti-corruption compliance program
and internal controls. In fulfilling its duties, the independent
Monitor team has had full access to the company's Board,
executives, employees, global operations and books and
records. The Monitor's final certification is based on its
four year review and has included "an assessment of the Board of
Directors' and senior management's commitment to, and effective
implementation of, the corporate compliance program".
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ABOUT ERICSSON:
Ericsson enables communications service providers and enterprises
to capture the full value of connectivity. The company's portfolio
spans the following business areas: Networks, Cloud Software and
Services, Enterprise Wireless Solutions, Global Communications
Platform, and Technologies and New Businesses. It is designed to
help our customers go digital, increase efficiency and find new
revenue streams. Ericsson's innovation investments have delivered
the benefits of mobility and mobile broadband to billions of people
globally. Ericsson stock is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and on
Nasdaq New York. www.ericsson.com
Forward-looking statements
This release includes forward-looking statements, including
statements reflecting the Company's current views relating to the
growth of the market, future market conditions, future events,
financial condition, and expected operational and financial
performance, including, in particular the following risks and
uncertainties:
– Potential material additional costs and liability resulting
from our ongoing compliance with the terms of the Plea Agreement
with the DOJ and extended monitorship
– Risk of USG rejecting certification and extending monitorship
and potential ongoing USG oversight with respect to suspension
and debarment.
– Potential to become a target for public scrutiny as a result
of entering into the Plea Agreement with the DOJ, which could
damage our reputation and materially and adversely affect our
business and prospects
– Risks resulting from entering into the Plea Agreement,
including potential debarment from government contracting in
the United States and elsewhere,
reputational risk, as well as potential counterparty reluctance to
continue business relationships
– Potential material additional liability resulting from past
conduct, including allegations of past conduct that remains
unresolved or unknown in multiple jurisdictions including
Iraq, which remains the subject of
ongoing investigations by Ericsson and US governmental
authorities
– Risks related to internal controls and governance, including
the potential to incur material liability in connection with
internal controls surrounding payments made to third parties in
connection with past conduct in multiple jurisdictions, including
Iraq which remains the subject of
ongoing investigations by Ericsson and US governmental
authorities
– The risk that the ongoing investigations by Ericsson and US
governmental authorities result in a conclusion by Ericsson or US
governmental authorities that the Company's past conduct included
making or having responsibility for making payments to a terrorist
organization or other improper payments, which could lead to
material additional liability
– Risks related to our ongoing compliance with obligations under
the National Security Agreement entered into in connection with
Ericsson's acquisition of Vonage, which may adversely affect the
Vonage business and subject the Company to additional
liabilities
– Our goals, strategies, planning assumptions and operational or
financial performance expectations
– Industry trends, future characteristics and development of the
markets in which we operate
– Our future liquidity, capital resources, capital expenditures,
cost savings and profitability
– The expected demand for our existing and new products and
services as well as plans to launch new products and services
including research and development expenditures
– The ability to deliver on future plans and to realize
potential for future growth
– Technology and industry trends including the regulatory and
standardization environment in which we operate, competition and
our customer structure
- Other factors included in our filings with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the risk factors
described throughout our 2023 Annual Report
The words "believe," "expect," "foresee," "anticipate,"
"assume," "intend," "likely," "projects," "may," "could," "plan,"
"estimate," "forecast," "will," "should," "would," "predict,"
"aim," "ambition," "seek," "potential," "target," "might,"
"continue," or, in each case, their negative or variations, and
similar words or expressions are used to identify forward-looking
statements. Any statement that refers to expectations, projections
or other characterizations of future events or circumstances,
including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking
statements.
We caution investors that these statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties many of which are difficult to predict and
generally beyond our control that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected
by, the forward-looking information and statements.
Important factors that could affect whether and to what extent
any of our forward-looking statements materialize include, but are
not limited to, the factors described in the section "Risk Factors"
in the latest interim reports, and in "Risk Factors" in the Annual
Report 2023.
These forward-looking statements also represent our estimates
and assumptions only as of the date that they were made. We
expressly disclaim a duty to provide updates to these
forward-looking statements, and the estimates and assumptions
associated with them, after the date of this release, to reflect
events or changes in circumstances or changes in expectations or
the occurrence of anticipated events, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable law or stock exchange regulations.
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Independent Monitor
certifies Ericsson’s Compliance Program
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SOURCE Ericsson