Feds Investigating Microsoft, Partners Over Foreign Bribery Claims
March 19th, 2013Via: ZDnet:
US federal authorities are reportedly investigating an alleged bribery scheme involving Microsoft and its partners in China, Romania and Italy, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
According to the paper, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into claims made by a former Microsoft representative in China, as well as the company’s “relationship” with consultants and resellers in the two European member states.
The allegations, made by the former Microsoft representative, said China’s local subsidiary company offered benefits in return for the completion of software contracts. The person who tipped off the Journal ended his contract with the company in 2008, but was also involved in a dispute over labor with Microsoft in China.
It’s understood that the two US federal agencies are reviewing whether Microsoft had any involvement in offering bribes to secure contracts in Romania’s Ministry of Communications, which refutes the claims. In Italy, the two agencies are reportedly looking into Microsoft’s relationships with its consultants, and if they offered gifts and trips in exchange for government business.
Related: Berlusconi on Bribery
