Wal-Mart Says Retailer Is Investigating Possible Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Issues in Mexico
Responding to a New York Times report earlier this week about a claimed pattern of bribe-paying by a Mexican subsidiary, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it has been looking into the alleged incidents discussed by the newspaper as part of an internal investigation of potential Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues that has been ongoing for over a year.
The company declined to discuss the matter in detail. However, an expert said the Times story could create new FCPA problems for Wal-Mart by reporting that the alleged payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to open 19 stores in Mexico was a way of doing business for the retail giant, recounts Reuters. Another Times article, published earlier this year, didn’t provide as many details.
“I think the Times story, if it is true, changes the perception of the Wal-Mart matter from being about facilitating payments to something larger than that,” Danforth Newcomb of Shearman & Sterling told the news agency. He is an attorney who defends FCPA cases.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Potential Cover-up Liability in Wal-Mart FCPA Case Could Dwarf Mexican Bribery Claims, Experts Say”
ABAJournal.com: “NY Times Says It Pursued Internal Probe Dropped by Wal-Mart, Describes Claimed Bribes in Mexico”
