Suspected bribes to several south american countries – the Swedish Radio

– I used the word corruption and I said that I would not want to be on it.

Griffin Development corporation as bulvanbolaget called up by a law firm in Panama in the early 90s and was provided with a board of directors of the goalie, but in reality was controlled according to the Echo sources of Ericsson’s marketing department, We have also taken note of a large number of money orders and bankdokument that shows how we use the Griffin to divert money to the whole of South and central America. Altogether there are about over half a billion sek in 1999. In most cases the ending track on an anonymous nummerkonto in a tax haven, but there are also beneficiaries who are sentenced ekobrottslingar, and close relatives of political leaders. Liss Olof Nenzell worked with the payments that went to the Griffin and other decoys, and it was high-ranking people who were the real beneficiaries, he says:

” It was telekomministrar and televerksdirektörer.

Ministers.

– Yes, even on the ministerial level.

What are we talking about for the sums which would be forwarded to these ministers ?

– 100′s of million. To the majority of countries.

Which countries?

– Colonmbia, Venezuela, Peru , Brazil, Argentina

As the echoes told the today show a few of the documents that Ericsson via Griffin, among other things, brought over 2.5 million to a bank account in Panama with links to Costa Rica’s former president Miguel Angel Rodriguez. The money is bouncing between the three banks before it reaches its target. Korruptionsexperten Peter Utterström has taken part of the documents.

– this is serious if it is true.

at the same time as you are fighting, if a contract pays 2.5 million kronor to the country’s president. Can you do so?

” Then you have the probably a problem. Therefore, it is difficult to explain what motivates the payment other than it would be a payment in order to get a benefit and then we all know what it is about.

What’s it all about then?

– It is all about corruption.

And it was close to the money never arrived. The bank would perform the transaction was in doubt, ” says Liss Olof Nenzell.

–They called me and said that we have had a number of transactions on Griffin’s behalf, and it is the Ericssonfolk that controls the company, said at the bank and they said that we do not like if they have the transactions please check them.

Ericsson however, managed to convince the bank and the money reached its goal in October 1999.

Liss Olof Nenzell claims that Ericsson’s management ordered him to destroy all sensitive documents after a review by the newspaper Expressen in the fall of 2000.

But in fact he destroyed not documents. The echo have taken part of a large number of these documents.

– It is the name of the final beneficiary, prominent individuals in a number of countries with which it had agreements, it would be highly confidential that they would not arrive.

For a couple of years ago initiated the Liss Olof Nenzell in secret cooperation with the u.s. financial authority SEC. Now he has handed over the most sensitive documents to a law firm in the united states to present the material to the us authorities.

Costa Rica’s former president Miguel Angel Rodriguez denies through his lawyer that he had received any bribes from Ericsson. Ericsson writes in a press release that the company has a zero tolerance policy against corruption and to quote: “reject the generalizations that Ericsson as a company systematically acted in a manner contrary to our own guidelines and principles,” end of quote.