A former EWOS executive has been indicted for taking NOK 2.7 million (EUR 277,000) in bribes from at least two suppliers, it has been learned.
Two other persons are also indicted for having offered up bribes of NOK 2 million (EUR 205,000) and over NOK 1 million (EUR 102,653), Norway’s white-collar crimes unit, Økokrim, has announced.
“This has been a wide-ranging investigation, and the corruption detailed in the indictment extends over a period of over two years,” said prosecuting attorney, Elisabeth Harbo-Lervik.
Cash and travel
The accused has allegedly received cash and the coverage of expenses for marina costs and air travel for himself and his wife, writes Sysla.
“The payments (and or) perks were improper because of his position and role at the start of contracts on behalf of EWOS; their total value; because the payments (and or) perks contravened internal (company) guidelines; they were kept secret from the employer(s) and because the goal was to secure for the companies of Indictee No. 2 and No. 3, in which they both had shares, contract conditions or more favourable contract terms with EWOS,” the indictment read.
“Not acceptable”
EWOS head of communications, Hanne Dankertsen, told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv that the company has been damaged by the case and for being “exposed to an unfaithful servant” (a reference to Norwegian corporate law).
“It’s just completely unacceptable. We do not accept that people who work for us do not act properly and honestly,” she said. According to Dankertsen, the company became suspicious when the former exec broke internal guidelines.
In September 2016, one person was sentenced to 11 months in prison for corruption in a related plea bargain case. That person was alleged to have transferred NOK 691,109 to a former EWOS executive. The judge’s ruling held that the man chose to pay the former exec’s bills because he was afraid of losing EWOS’s business.
