Rosa Jin

After dismissing allegations of international bribery for seven years, Wal-Mart is now investigating their own potential violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In 2005, Sergio Cicero Zapata, a former executive of Wal-Mart de Mexico, came forward, confessing to his lengthy contributions in the illegal expansion of his company. Upon notifying one of Wal-Mart’s senior lawyers, who further examined the case, they discovered just how much damage had been done:
$25 million (!) in bribes allowed such a rapid development of stores in Mexico so that “competitors [did] not have time to react.” In fact, 20% of today’s Wal-Mart stores are in Mexico.

Accusations of such scandals have been supported by various suspicious events, such as: the promotions of several executive members closely following the appearance of reports (suggesting this corruption), illegitimate-looking documentation which used “secret codes,” and the firing of an auditor (who had just previously released an audit showing incredibly large payments to gestores in time with Wal-Mart’s sudden growth).

In today’s society of “money-hungry” workhorses, where are our principles and values? Whether this investigation debunks or confirms the suspected charges, it is impeccably clear that Wal-Mart needs to not only acknowledge this issue, but also take a more ethical approach in going about their business, compensating for the immorality of their latest moral mistakes.

 

Sources:

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/busted-wal-mart-caught-massive-bribery-scandal-goes-150100011.html

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2999