By Ranjana Narayan, IANS,
On Board Air India One : Allegations of corruption by Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, are being looked into by the relevant agencies, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said Sunday.
Speaking to newspersons accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Asean summit in Phnom Penh, Sharma said he did not want to comment on allegations of violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act against Walmart.
“Allegations are allegations… In a rule-based country, there are agencies and authorities to look into such things,” Sharma said.
Walmart has disclosed that it is investigating allegations of corrupt practices and alleged violations of US anti-bribery law in India, China and Brazil.
The BJP has also demanded a probe into the allegations.
“We have inquiries or investigations regarding allegations of potential FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a federal law of the US) violations in a number of foreign markets where we operate, including but not limited to Brazil, China and India. This is in addition to the ongoing investigation in Mexico,” the company has said in a statement.
(Ranjana Narayan can be reached at [email protected])