Lars Nyberg, former CEO of Swedish telephone company TeliaSonera, which is currently under investigation for potential corruption violations, has withdrawn his name as a nominee for re-election to the board of Autoliv. In connection with his withdrawal from nomination, Nyberg also will resign as chairman of the board, effective immediately.

Nyberg, who first joined the board of the automotive safety systems maker as a director in October 2004 and has served as chairman since December 2011, will continue to serve as a director until the 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 6. “Nyberg believes that continuing to serve as chairman would be inappropriate in light of his decision to not stand for re-election,”  the company stated.

The company added that, "Nyberg's decision to withdraw as a nominee for re-election to the board and resign as chairman was not the result of any disagreements with Autoliv. In informing the board of his decision, Nyberg indicated that he did not want the ongoing investigations relating to his former employment with TeliaSonera to distract from Autoliv's continued success.”

Autoliv President and CEO Jan Carlson, who is a current director, assumes the role of interim chairman until the company appoints a new chairman, likely before its Annual Meeting of Stockholders. If the board decides to appoint Carlson as chairman, then it also would appoint an independent lead director, the company stated.

At this time, the board is not nominating a replacement director for election at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and will reduce the size of the board to seven members.

TeliaSonera Probe

On March 17, TeliaSonera announced that it's under investigation by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and has been ordered to hand over documents relating to its transactions in Uzbekistan for potential corruption allegations.

Regarding the investigation in the Netherlands, which TeliaSonera announced on March 12, Dutch authorities have requested collateral for any financial claims that may be decided against TeliaSonera UTA Holding.

“The common denominator for our contacts with the authorities is that we are asked for information about TeliaSonera's investments in Uzbekistan and documents related to these,” says Peter Borsos, TeliaSonera's head of group communications. “TeliaSonera cooperates fully with all the authorities, as we are doing with the Swedish prosecutor, in order to gain full clarity on these issues.”

Last year, TeliaSonera's board assigned the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright to conduct a thorough review of recent transactions regarding contracts and partners in other parts of TeliaSonera's Eurasian operations. Also, the law firm Mannheimer Swartling conducted an investigation specifically regarding the investments in Uzbekistan, which was presented last year.

“TeliaSonera has continuously communicated actions taken as a consequence of the Norton Rose Fulbright review and has also made material available to the Swedish prosecutor.”

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