The following article is quite interesting regarding Volvo. Read the article and make your own judgement. This article was published in The Associated Press and has been used by permission. The article reads as follows: "VOLVO: OIL-FOR-FOOD PAYMENTS WEREN'T BRIBERY STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Swedish truck and bus maker AB Volvo said oct. 28 that the company made payments through an agent to Iraqi authorities under the U.N. oil-for-food program but that it did not consider it bribery. The Brussels-based Volvo Construction Equipment was one of more than 2,200 companies listed as having colluded with Saddam's government in a scathing report released Oct. 27 about the massive corruption. 'We did business with an authority in Iraq. The same authority tells our agent that you have to pay a fee to do any business at all,' chief executive Leif Johansson told Swedish news agency TT. 'When authorities said that, we drew the conclusion that this was the way to do business in Iraq,' he said. 'No one linked that to bribes.' The report from the committee investigation the US$64 Billion program, aid that Volvo's Brussels-based unit for construction equipment paid US$317,000 in extra fees to Iraq on a US$6.4 million contract. Volvo spokesman Marten Wikforss told The Associated Press the company has not independently confirmed that the payments were made, but that is has no reason to doubt the U.N. report.

'Our agent has told the U.N. that we paid this money to the regime,' Wikforss said. 'We have to assume that is correct.' Wikforss said company officials dealing with Iraq were under the impression that 'some kind of extra fee' was required and commonly accepted to do business there. 'That is not an excuse in any way, but it may explain why there were not more people who reacted to this,' he said. 'Keep in mind that all deals had to be made through the U.N., under U.N. control and to be approved by the U.N. If not, they could not be carried out.' Volvo, which sold its car division to Ford in 1999, issued a statement saying it would investigate the matter and 'take actions; if the accusations are confirmed. 'In all, the companies listed in the report are accused of paying US$1.8 billion in kickbacks and illicit surcharges to the Iraqi government. Swedish prosecutors also said they would review the U.N. report to determine whether any of the Swedish companies listed, including Volvo and engineering company Atlas Copco AB, had broken national laws. Foreign Minister Leila Freivalds said it was 'completely unacceptable; if Swedish companies had paid bribes. 'These are very serious accusations,' Freivalds told the TT news agency. 'We don't expect Swedish companies to participate in bribery.'"