Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson has agreed to pay over $ 1 billion to settle a corruption allegation, BBC News reported referring to a statement from the US Department of Justice.

According to the agency, the company admitted to a multi-year corruption campaign in five countries in order to strengthen its influence in the telecommunications business.

The US Department of Justice said in a statement that the company had an agreement to defer prosecution of criminal charges in a New York court.

This amount is considered the highest for the entire practice of applying the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.