bribery news stories on Newser

Romney's Fishy Olympic Past Still Pays Off

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:45:00 CDT

We all know Mitt Romney ran a pretty good Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City 10 years ago. But few recall the bribery scandal that preceded him, or know that its major players have become significant Romney supporters, the Daily Beast reports. Businessman David Simmons, who pleaded guilty on tax...

Pension Fund Sues Walmart Directors Over Mexican Bribery

Rob Quinn — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:48:04 CDT

A major Walmart shareholder is suing current and former directors and execs on the company's behalf over the Mexican bribery scandal . The California State Teachers' Retirement System —America's second-largest public pension fund—wants the directors and executives responsible for Walmart's Mexican unit to reimburse the company for damages suffered as...

Walmart Fought to Scale Back Anti-Bribery Law

Rob Quinn — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:18:52 CDT

Walmart took part in an aggressive lobbying campaign to roll back the very same anti-bribery law it may be prosecuted under for alleged greasing palms in Mexico , the Washington Post finds. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans American companies from bribing foreign officials, has been in place since 1977...

Feds Target Walmart Bribery Scam in Criminal Inquiry

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:54:47 CDT

Walmart is under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice over allegations that it doled out millions in bribes to Mexican officials in order to grow its business there more quickly, sources tell Bloomberg and the Washington Post . The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibits companies from paying foreign officials...

Walmart Shares Dive After Bribery Report

Rob Quinn — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:23:00 CDT

News that Walmart execs quashed a probe into bribes paid by its Mexican subsidiary sent the company's shares tumbling nearly 5% yesterday, wiping around $10 billion off the company's market value. The stock of its Mexican subsidiary, which is accused of paying officials $27 million to speed up store-opening permits,...

Walmart Silences $27M Bribery Probe

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:54:38 CDT

Looks like Walmart stores blew past their competition in Mexico by doling out millions of dollars in bribes—and, when the scandal came to light, sweeping it deftly under the rug, the New York Times reports. Former Walmart de Mexico executive Sergio Cicero Zapata revealed the payoffs in 2005, triggering...

Murdoch's Sun Regularly Paid Off Corrupt Officials

Matt Cantor — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:55:20 CST

Reporters for Rupert Murdoch's Sun tabloid made a habit of paying off not just the police but also public officials, normalizing a "culture ... of illegal payments," the officer leading the police investigation into News International told an inquiry today. "Systems have been created to facilitate those payments whilst hiding the...

5 Sun Staffers Arrested in UK Bribery Scandal

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:57:40 CST

Five staff at Britain's largest selling tabloid the Sun were arrested today along with three other people over alleged bribes paid to police and defense officials. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said in a statement that police had also searched the homes of the five staff and the group's London offices,...

London Cops Nab 4 Journos in Bribery Case

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:02:33 CST

London police today arrested four current and former Sun journalists for allegedly paying off police, the Guardian reports. All had worked under Rebekah Brooks when she edited the Sun —whose Sunday sister paper News of the World closed last year amid a phone hacking scandal. The arrests may cast fresh...