ATHENS COURT CLEARS ERICSSON EXECUTIVES

ATHENS COURT CLEARS ERICSSON EXECUTIVES

 

In a much-awaited decision the Court of Appeal Athens sitting as a first instance court cleared on 22.1.2020 six former LM Ericsson executives (including an ex-CEO) from charges of bribery and money laundering in relation to the purchase of military equipment by the Hellenic Ministry of Defence in 1999. Two former executives of a subsidiary (Ericsson Microwave Systems) have been also acquitted on the same charges. The Court ruled that the charges against the Ericsson defendants lacked legal basis.

The Court convicted seven out of twenty-one defendants for bribery-related money laundering, among them a former ministerial secretary, a well-known businessman, and financial intermediaries.

Defence counsel for the six former LM Ericsson executives Ilias Anagnostopoulos and Alexandros Tsagkalidis said:

We are delighted with the Court’s judgment; it is legally correct and fair to the evidence. We are indebted to our Swedish colleagues Håkan Matz of LM Ericsson, Hans Strandberg and Olle Kullinger of Nordia and Olle Nykvist  of Cirio and  for their valuable contribution to this excellent outcome“.