Advertisement

Wal-Mart wracked by allegations of bribery scheme in Mexico

 
 A woman shops Monday in the produce aisle of a Wal-Mart store in Mexico City. 
 A woman shops Monday in the produce aisle of a Wal-Mart store in Mexico City. 
Published April 24, 2012

NEW YORK — Allegations that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. covered up the findings of an internal inquiry that proved its Mexican subsidiary bribed officials in that country could have huge implications for the world's biggest retailer and its executives.

The alleged bribery scheme was revealed by the New York Times, which reported that Wal-Mart failed to notify law enforcement after the company's investigators found evidence of millions of dollars in bribes given to Mexican officials in exchange for getting building permits faster and other favors to help it aggressively expand in the region.

Two Democratic U.S. congressmen, Elijah Cummings and Henry Waxman, said Monday that they were starting an investigation into the matter, and they sent a letter to CEO Mike Duke asking for a meeting. The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice has been conducting a criminal investigation of the allegations since December.

If Wal-Mart is found to have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids paying bribes to foreign officials, the company could face fines of hundreds of millions of dollars. Top Wal-Mart executives could lose their jobs — or worse, go to jail. And the retailer could suffer a public relations nightmare if a lengthy investigation ensues.

"Unlike prior bad PR stories in recent years, this will be a material distraction for Wal-Mart on multiple fronts," said Charles Grom, a retail analyst at Deutsche Bank.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that a former company executive in 2005 told Wal-Mart top brass about a bribery campaign that was used to help the retailer expand in Mexico. The paper said Wal-Mart officials started an investigation into the Wal-Mart de Mexico subsidiary but shut down the inquiry despite a report by its lead investigator that Mexican and U.S. laws likely were broken.

In December, Wal-Mart said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had begun an investigation into an overseas operation related to its compliance with the foreign corrupt practices law. Over the weekend, the company revealed that it had met with officials from the SEC and the Justice Department to discuss the company's ongoing investigation. But, according to the New York Times, Wal-Mart only did so after being informed that the paper was looking into the allegations.

"We are committed to getting to the bottom of this matter," Dave Tovar, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said in a statement.

The Justice Department and the SEC declined to comment. But legal experts say if there is a government investigation into the bribery allegations, the results could vary widely. In recent investigations into corporations, the penalties for violating the foreign corruption law have ranged from big fines for the companies to jail time for the executives.

In February, for instance, Albert "Jack" Stanley, a former KBR Inc. CEO, got a 2 1/2-year prison sentence for his role in a scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials in return for $6 billion in engineering and construction contracts. KBR, an engineering and construction firm, was a Halliburton subsidiary at the time of the bribes.

In March, medical device maker Biomet Inc. agreed to pay $22.7 million to settle U.S. criminal and civil allegations that it bribed government-employed doctors in Argentina, Brazil and China for more than eight years to win business with hospitals.

Experts say a government investigation into Wal-Mart would look at whether the company had adequate controls in place to prevent bribery, whether there was adequate training to discourage the practice before the violations occurred, and how high up any alleged cover-up took place.

If the government finds that Wal-Mart or its executives were negligent, the company could face fines and top executives could lose their jobs. But if it's determined that there was a cover-up that involved actions such as falsifying records, there could be criminal charges.

Eduardo Castro-Wright, who was head of Wal-Mart de Mexico at the time of the alleged bribes, could face criminal charges, experts say. According to the New York Times, he was the driving force behind the bribery.

Duke, Wal-Mart's CEO who was over the company's international division at the time of the investigation, could also face intense scrutiny, as could H. Lee Scott Jr., who was CEO at the time of the allegations and remains on Wal-Mart's board, officials say.

According to the New York Times story, Scott rebuked internal investigators at one meeting for being overly aggressive. Shortly after, according to the paper, the company turned over the investigation to the general counsel for Wal-Mart de Mexico, who himself was alleged to have authorized bribes. He exonerated his fellow executives, according to the newspaper.

The allegations come at a time when the Bentonville, Ark.-based company has been focused on expanding internationally as sales have slowed in the United States.

Wal-Mart's international business, which had a 15.2 percent increase last year, has had the fastest growth compared to its Wal-Mart U.S. business and Sam's Club division. In particular, Mexico, which it entered in 1991, has been a strong market: Wal-Mart de Mexico is now Wal-Mart's largest subsidiary, and one out of every five Wal-Mart stores is now in Mexico.