STOCKHOLM (Reuters), Ericsson has announced that a 2019 internal investigation found grave breaches in its compliance regulations in Iraq. It included evidence of corrupt conduct and the improper use by sales agents and consultants.

According to the Swedish telecom equipment company, it is working with an external counsel to examine the results and to determine any further steps that should be taken.

A probe was initiated by strange expense claims from Iraq that date back to 2018. It resulted in many employees being fired and other actions taken. Some third-party relationships were also terminated.

An internal investigation team discovered payments made to intermediaries as well as the use alternate transportation routes for circumventing Iraqi Customs. This was at a time in which militant organizations, such Islamic State, were controlling some of these transport routes.

According to the statement, Ericsson (BS) stated that investigators were unable to identify the recipients or determine if any Ericsson employee had been directly involved in funding such organizations.

Ericsson, in 2019, had signed an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department for more than $1B to end probes into corrupt government officials, which included the bribing that was carried out over many years in Djibouti and Vietnam.

The company stated last week that they were reviewing an internal probe into 2019, which looked at whether Ericsson vendors, staff or suppliers had broken its ethical code.