Telecommunications giant Ericsson has paid over 10 million euro to an agent in connection with a large defense deal in Greece, Swedish State Radio sverigeSRradio (Radio Sweden) reported on Wednesday. According to former Ericsson employee Liss Olof Nenzell, the payments were handled through a middle man and started beginning of the year 2000, after Ericsson to secured a deal with Greece for Ericsson’s military radar system Erieye. The bribes “were given to politicians, generals and senior civil servants,” the whistleblower claimed. When asked by Radio Sweden, a company representative said “they didn’t know about the bribes.”
Whistleblower: “Ericsson bribed Greek policymakers”
“The claim was made to Swedish Radio News by Liss Olof Nenzell, a former Ericsson employee who handled many of Ericsson’s trade agents at the time. He says the money was used to bribe Greek policymakers. For the first time he tells the story about Ericsson’s shady business.
“The company hopes that time will pass and I’ll be good and keep quiet.”
But no more? – “No, I have had enough, I want to put everything on the table.”
Just before the turn of the millennium Ericsson closed a deal with the Greek state. Greece agreed to buy Ericsson’s military radar system Erieye. Deliveries continued for over ten years. The deal, which was worth over 400 million euros, was an important order for Ericsson. Greece was the first country in the NATO-alliance that bought the radar system.
But to secure the deal Ericsson used bribes, claims Liss Olof Nenzell.
The bribes were passed to the Greek policymakers through a go-between used as a decoy, in Monaco.
“It was a corrupt payment. This go-between was going to allocate the money to people no one should know about.”
And the final recipients were? – “It was these highly placed people in the Greek establishment.”
Politicians? – “Yes politicians, generals and senior civil servants,” Liss Olof Nenzell says.
Swedish Radio News has obtained secret internal documents from Ericsson. Among other things, we have seen two so-called payment orders dating back to January 2000, totalling $13.8 million.
The payments are signed by two senior managers at Ericsson.
On one of the occasions a large sum got stuck in a bank in Monaco. Liss Olof Nenzell, who at that time served as a kind of troubleshooter, travelled together with Ericsson director Yngve Broberg to Monaco to help release the money. The go-between was afraid.
“Yes, he was so nervous, he was so terribly nervous about this whole thing. He feared he wouldn’t be able to live up to his part in transferring the money.”
– Do you know if he was nervous about his physical safety? – “Yes, it was part of the threat. Yes.”
Ericsson has confirmed that the go-between worked for their agent in Greece.
A major corruption investigation is underway in Greece.
Antonis Kantas, a senior manager at the department of defence has admitted to receiving more than $15 million in bribes from big corporations in relation to arms contracts. He has also admitted receiving a bribe from Ericsson’s agent in Greece.
Ericsson director Yngve Broberg claims he did not know for whom the money was intended. He has declined to be interviewed by Swedish Radio. Instead, Swedish Radio met legal expert Nina Macpherson, who is General Counsel at Ericsson.
She says the company has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption, but could not say what happened in Greece:
“I can say this, if there were bribes we didn’t know anything about them.”
When you have taken in the facts that we have talked about what is your assessment? Does it seem like you’ve paid bribes to Greece to get this Erieye contract?
“I really hope it is not so,” says Nina Macpherson.” (via Radio Sweden)
Correction: “Telecommunications giant Ericsson has paid over 10 million euro to an agent..” and not “10 euros” as originally written.
PS As if we had not enough scandals today, we now have to recon who was in the government and defense ministry and so on in 2000… But this name “Antonis Kantas” mentioned in the article had something to do with former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, no?
BTW: thanks to KTG-ian Andreas for the tip 🙂
