According to former Ericsson employee Liss-Olof Nenzell, the Swedish telecommunications company paid out a total of about13 million euros towards bribes for Greek officials.
Nenzell, who made the revelations on Swedish radio, stated that “politicians, generals and high-ranking officers received the company’s money”, with the company responding that it is unaware of where the funds ended up, as the sum in question was given to a commercial representative, The Swedish company insisted that it has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption.
The alleged bribes refer to the purchase of an early warning and control system worth 540 million euros. The allegations are being examined in Sweden by anti-corruption prosecutor Alf Johansson, who pointed out that alleged bribes prior to 2004 cannot be prosecuted since the statute of limitations has passed.
The case was prompted when Antonis Kantas admitted to receiving a bribe by retired Air Force officer Christos Toumpas (who was the legal represenative of Brazilian firm EMBAER) in order to purchase the early warning system. Ericsson’s system was to be installed in EMBAER’s aircraft, prompting Swedish authorities to further investigate after Kantas’ deposition.
