"Ikea France to face trial over claims it spied on staff and customers," 14 May 2020

Ikea’s French subsidiary and 15 individuals including former executives and police officials are to go on trial on charges of spying on employees and customers, prosecutors have announced.

Two former Ikea France CEOs are among those charged in a case dating back to 2012 when the Swedish-based home furnishings firm was accused of paying for illegal access to police files.

The company is alleged to have paid police for information on workers involved with labour unions and clients with whom it was involved in disputes. Prosecutors say the French unit bought access to court and police records and bank details.

The information was allegedly taken from France’s STIC police records system, which tracks the names and personal information of millions of criminals, victims and even witnesses...

On Thursday, the prosecutor’s office in Versailles, outside Paris, decided there was enough evidence to hold a trial.

In the wake of the allegations, Ikea France fired four employees, opened an internal inquiry and established a code of conduct. The company has 34 stores in France and employs 10,000 people.