The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened an investigation into Ericsson’s handling and reporting of its ongoing Iraq corruption issues. The investigation is the latest by the SEC into the world's No. 1 radio access network (RAN) vendor's ongoing legal and ethical quagmire.

“It is too early to determine or predict the outcome of the investigation, but Ericsson is fully cooperating with the SEC,” the company noted in a statement regarding the latest move.

The SEC move is tied to Ericsson admitting to multiple incidents of bribery and corruption by its operations in Iraq between 2011 and 2018. Most damning of all, the company said it can’t unequivocally deny that bribes paid by some employees during that period ended up in the hands of the Islamic State.

During the vendor’s most recent earnings call, CEO Börje Ekholm provided scant, though ominous, details on Ericsson’s potential total punishment.

“What I can say now is that it’s our assessment that the resolution will likely result in monetary and other measures,” Ekholm said. “However, the magnitude of these cannot, at this time, be reliably estimated. As this process is ongoing, we remain limited in what we can say about the historical events covered in the Iraq investigation and related matters.”

Also damning is that the corruption incident comes on the heels of Ericsson already paying a $1.06 billion settlement it reached with the U.S. Department of Justice related to a 17-year period of criminal wrongdoing in six other countries.

Ericsson shareholders earlier this year did back Ekholm’s continued leadership at the vendor but did not let him off the hook for any future potential liability.

The latest investigation could also impact Ericsson’s pending $6.2 billion purchase of Vonage. The deal, which was announced last November, could be hindered by a national security or Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) review. Vonage noted in an SEC filing last month that it had granted Ericsson a 3-month extension to close the deal.