Witness backs allegations in Ericsson cash-for-contracts scandal
Evidence given by a key witness in the Ericsson cash-for-deals scandal appears to back allegations that the Swedish mobile telecoms giant bribed Greek officials to secure a 561-million-euro contract in 1999.
Testifying at the Greek Consulate in Stockholm, the witness, a former Ericsson executive identified only as N., confirmed earlier claims by a company employee to Swedish media that he had been ordered by the management of the company to transfer an unspecified amount of money to a British lawyer representing the firm’s Greek branch. He said the meeting, held in Monaco, took place “under mysterious circumstances.”
In an interview with Swedish radio earlier this year, former Ericsson employee Liss-Olof Nenzell said that “politicians, generals and high-ranking state officials” were bribed to sign a contract for the Ericsson airborne surveillance system Erieye.
Ericsson has subsequently sold its defence business to Swedish group Saab.
