Ericsson pushes back against Russian equipment exports
Ericsson pushed back against reports that it had continued to export equipment to Russia even after war had erupted in Ukraine.
In a statement released over the weekend, the Swedish telecom equipment maker said the initial coverage from media outlet Swedish Radio was “factually incorrect” and disputed claims that it was granted a series of exemptions on what it could sell to Russia, including products for potential military use.
Ericsson said it is only providing software and technical support to Russian clients, and was not selling equipment to mobile operators.
“These items are only for civilian public telecommunication network and not for military use,” the company said, adding that it had also laid off 400 employees since sanctions were imposed on Russia.
More than $5bn (£3.8bn) was wiped from Ericsson’s market value back in February after its explosive admission that it may have made payments to ISIS based on “unusual expense claims in Iraq” dating back to 2018.
In a statement at the time, it said that during an internal investigation it identified payments made to intermediaries, as well as the use of alternate transport routes in connection with “circumventing Iraqi Customs at a time when terrorist organizations, including ISIS, controlled some transport routes”.
Some of these activities include employees making donations without a clear beneficiary and paying suppliers without proof of documents.