Ericsson bosses not guilty in tax case
The former finance director of Ericsson, Carl Wilhelm Roos, and the former strategy director, Torbjörn Nilsson, were freed of all charges of financial irregularity on Friday at Stockholm District Court.
All of those involved in the Ericsson tax case, a total of six people, were found not guilty by the court.
"This is extremely pleasing. The court has completely understood the explanations that this was about entirely normal business transactions," said Hans Strandberg, lawyer for one of the directors.
The case went back to the end of the 1990s, when, according to chief prosecutor Lage Carlström, seven directors and another employee were engaged in "the serious obstruction of tax checks".
The directors were accused of siphoning off cash to foreign bank accounts with the help of false invoices. The prosecutor also claimed that they had manipulated accounts with the intention of misleading the tax authorities.
Between 1998 and 1999, said the prosecutor, Ericsson paid 3.4 billion kronor to 33 different service companies or intermediaries. In total, the case focused on around 400 invoices for a range of services, including sponorship and marketing activities.
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All of those involved in the Ericsson tax case, a total of six people, were found not guilty by the court.
"This is extremely pleasing. The court has completely understood the explanations that this was about entirely normal business transactions," said Hans Strandberg, lawyer for one of the directors.
The case went back to the end of the 1990s, when, according to chief prosecutor Lage Carlström, seven directors and another employee were engaged in "the serious obstruction of tax checks".
The directors were accused of siphoning off cash to foreign bank accounts with the help of false invoices. The prosecutor also claimed that they had manipulated accounts with the intention of misleading the tax authorities.
Between 1998 and 1999, said the prosecutor, Ericsson paid 3.4 billion kronor to 33 different service companies or intermediaries. In total, the case focused on around 400 invoices for a range of services, including sponorship and marketing activities.
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