Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm and other members of the company’s board aren’t off the legal hook for a scandal that has engulfed the radio access network (RAN) vendor and slashed the Swedish company’s value by at least 25%.

Shareholders representing more than 10% of Ericsson shares declined to support a measure that would discharge board members of liability for 2021 activities. That 10% threshold is significant under Swedish law because Ekholm and other board members can now be held personally liable and sued by the company and its investors, according to Reuters. 

At issue is Ekholm and the company’s failure to disclose information to the public, shareholders, and authorities it appears, regarding Ericsson’s operations in Iraq. The U.S. Department of Justice recently determined the company breached a $1.06 billion settlement it reached with the agency in 2019 related to a 17-year period of criminal wrongdoing in six other countries. 

Ekholm recently admitted to a continued pattern of “hugely embarrassing” and “unacceptable misconduct” uncovered during an internal investigation that discovered multiple incidents of bribery and corruption in Iraq between 2011 and 2018. 

The company can’t unequivocally deny that bribes paid by some employees during that period ended up in the hands of the Islamic State.

Ericsson claims the pattern of corruption and criminal activities were in the past, but it faces a crisis of trust in that assertion.

Nonetheless, shareholders voted in favor of reappointing Ekholm and the board at the company’s annual general meeting.

The CEO and Chair Ronnie Leten said they were unable to share more details about the Iraq probe due to an ongoing Justice Department investigation. “I fully understand the concern over the recent turbulence in Ericsson. I want to emphasize again the full commitment to rebuild your trust in Ericsson,” Leten said during the meeting, according to Reuters.

He also reiterated that Ekholm and other Ericsson executives have the full confidence of the board.

“Conducting business responsibly and with integrity is essential to driving real and positive change. During five years at the helm, Börje has led the focus on ethics and compliance and executed the performance turnaround of Ericsson. He has made the company a leader in 5G globally and established a course for growing in wireless enterprise,” Leten said in a statement.

Ekholm again acknowledged the seriousness of the matter and indicated his desire to remain at the helm of Ericsson. “I want to state my commitment to continuing to lead Ericsson in the transformation of our company and its culture, executing on global 5G technology leadership, and strengthening our ethics and compliance performance to ensure lasting change,” he said in a statement.

Ekholm took charge of Ericsson in early 2017. Current Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg led Ericsson between 2010 and mid-2016 when he abruptly resigned following several underperforming quarters. Vestberg’s predecessor Carl-Henric Svanberg ran the company from 2003 to 2009.