Links between Swedish company Ericsson and ISIS
16.3.2022
Question for written answer E-001066/2022
to the Commission
Rule 138
Marco Campomenosi (ID)
Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson is said to have handed money to members of the Islamic State in Iraq in a bid to make inroads into the Iraqi telephony market[1]. This admission comes straight from the company’s CEO, Borje Ekholm, after it emerged only in recent days that an internal investigation carried out in 2019 found cases of corruption and financial contributions being made to organisations close to ISIS.
Ericsson reportedly made multiple payments to several suppliers without a receipt at precisely the same time as it purchased transmission lines which passed through ISIS-controlled areas of Iraq. This transgression purportedly allowed the company to evade customs checks.
Back in 2019, Ericsson negotiated a USD 1 billion settlement in a US probe into corruption and misconduct in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Djibouti and Kuwait[2].
- 1.Can the Commission comment on the Ericsson affair and state how its position squares with the new due diligence rules?
- 2.Countering the financing of terrorism is a key component of the EU’s fight against international terrorism[3]. While the world watched minorities endure barbaric treatment and persecution, a European company was engaged in a widespread corruption scheme spanning multiple continents and involving sham intermediaries. Can the Commission say whether the relevant bodies will consider applying the appropriate financial sanctions?
- [1] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/16/ericsson-employees-may-have-bribed-isil-in-iraq
- [2] https://www.ft.com/content/8779157b-5568-48e7-a117-96b74c6db957
- [3] In 2021, the Commission presented an ambitious package of legislative proposals to tighten the rules in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT).