On December 14, 2022, Swedish telecommunications equipment and services provider Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson announced that it had agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to extend the three-year term of Ericsson’s independent compliance monitor for one year, to June 2024. Ericsson stated in a press release that the extension would allow it “to further embed best in class governance, risk management and compliance frameworks across” the company, and that it remained committed to cooperating with the DOJ.
Ericsson initially engaged the independent compliance monitor in December 2019 pursuant to a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the DOJ to resolve an investigation of violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In addition to engaging a monitor, Ericsson agreed, as a condition of the DPA, to pay a criminal penalty of $520 million and enhance its compliance measures and reporting, and — as part of a coordinated resolution with the SEC — agreed to pay over $540 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. In March 2022, Ericsson reported the the DOJ had determined that the company had breached the DPA by failing to make adequate disclosures regarding an internal investigation into misconduct in Iraq.