Stung by bad publicity because of its Chinese sweatshops, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. decided to institute its own foreign aid program, beginning south of the border with its Wal-Mart de Mexico branch. The corporation generously donated $24 million to our southern neighbor. Unfortunately, the financial assistance consisted of illegal bribes to obtain construction permits for its stores across the country, which currently number 2,099.
Who says? Sergio Cicero Zapata, the lawyer who was in charge of making Wal-Mart’s bribes. These payments aren’t just against Mexican law; they’re illegal in the USA under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the law prohibiting bribes to officials of other countries.
How did Wal-Mart react when an internal investigation found this pattern of corruption? With a cover-up.
More:
“8 Revelations From Walmart’s Mexican Bribery Scandal,” Andrew Carter and Matthew DeLuca, Daily Beast
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Tags: bribery, bribes, business, Crime, Mexico, Walmart, Walmart de Mexico
April 27, 2012 at 10:39 pm
UPDATES:
“Wal-Mart took part in lobbying campaign to amend anti-bribery law,” Tom Hamburger, Brady Dennis and Jia Lynn Yang, Washigton Post