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Atea A/S («Atea Denmark», "the Company") has, as a legal entity, been prosecuted in a corruption case involving former employees’ actions

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Reference is made to the former stock exchange notices regarding a potential corruption case involving Atea Denmark.

On March 2, Atea Denmark was presented with a formal prosecution (norsk: tiltale) as the legally responsible entity, of bribery and embezzlement carried out by four former employees in the company, in a time period from 2009-2014. The prosecution against the Company was made simultaneously with the prosecution against the four persons involved. The same four persons were employed at Atea Denmark at the time the actions took place. As the Company has been prosecuted as a consequence of the actions committed by these four former employees, Atea is considering taking legal action against the former employees who have been prosecuted.

“I wish to apologize on behalf of Atea. Atea has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption, and it is my responsibility as the CEO to make sure that Atea Denmark is a safe company to collaborate with. Atea has, since June 2015, cooperated with the Danish prosecutors (SØIK) in the ongoing investigation, and Atea has also performed an internal investigation. In addition, Atea has strengthened its internal control routines in order to make sure that this does not happen again”, says CEO Steinar Sønsteby.

In the summer of 2014, Morten Felding and Steinar Sønsteby, both newly appointed in their roles as CEO of Atea Denmark and CEO of Atea ASA respectively, were informed that former employees had made decisions, approved expenditures and conducted themselves in an unacceptable manner that was in conflict with Atea’s internal regulations. These actions affected the client Region Sjælland, which was notified, and that marked the start of a comprehensive police investigation in Denmark.

Since the summer of 2015, Atea has implemented a series of measures:

  • In accordance with EU anti-corruption and tendering legislation, Atea Denmark has performed a thorough self-cleaning process
  • Atea Denmark is undertaking a certification process on anti-corruption (ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Systems)
  • The Atea Group has established a thorough compliance system, including comprehensive control procedures
  • The Code of Conduct of Atea has been updated and strengthened
  • Every employee of the Atea Group has completed a training program in ethics and the Code of Conduct
  • The whistle-blower system has been strengthened
  • A compliance committee has been established in the Board of Directors (Atea ASA)
  • The CFO of Atea ASA, Robert Giori, has been appointed as Group Compliance Officer
  • All business units report on compliance quarterly in order to make sure that the governance systems are working

Because Atea Denmark has gone through a self-cleaning process in accordance with EU legislation, any prosecution or verdict will not automatically exclude Atea Denmark from competing in public tenders in Denmark. A verdict against Atea Denmark will not have any legal consequences for Atea’s business in other countries.

For further information, please contact:
Steinar Sønsteby, CEO Atea ASA, mobile (+47) 930 55 655

Robert Giori, CFO Atea ASA, mobile (+47) 934 09 188

About Atea

Atea is the leading supplier of IT infrastructure and system integration in the Nordic and Baltic regions with 6,900 employees. Atea is present in 86 cities in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Atea delivers IT products from leading vendors and assists its customers with specialist competencies within IT infrastructure services. Atea had revenue of approximately NOK 31 billion in 2016 and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange. [https://www.atea.com]  

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