Lawmakers release documents that they say show Wal-Mart knew of bribery practices in Mexico

By Anne D’Innocenzio

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Lawmakers are making public emails that show that Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s CEO found out in 2005 that the retailer was handing out bribes in Mexico.

Democratic Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings and Henry A. Waxman, who are investigating bribery charges at Wal-Mart’s Mexico division, on Thursday released emails that indicate that Mike Duke and other senior Wal-Mart officials were informed multiple times starting in 2005 about bribes being made in the country. U.S. law forbids American companies from bribing foreign officials.

The emails, which the lawmakers obtained from a confidential source, contradict claims by Wal-Mart senior executives that they had no knowledge of bribes being made by the company, particularly for a store in Teotihuacan, Mexico, the congressmen say. The store was built on the site of ancient ruins as the company expanded in Mexico.

The lawmakers shared the documents with Wal-Mart on Wednesday, and sent a letter to Duke asking for a meeting to discuss them.

“It would be a serious matter if the CEO of one of our nation’s largest companies failed to address allegations of a bribery scheme,” according to the letter written by Waxman and Cummings to Duke.

Allegations first surfaced in April that Wal-Mart failed to notify law enforcement that company officials authorized millions of dollars in bribes in Mexico to speed up getting building permits and gain other favours. Wal-Mart has been working with government officials in the U.S. and Mexico on that investigation.

Wal-Mart has conducted an internal investigation into the matter. And last November, the retailer said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was looking into potential U.S. bribery law violations in Brazil, China and India.

Brooke Buchanan, a Wal-Mart’s spokeswoman, issued a statement on Thursday saying that it has been providing information to the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the documents that were released by lawmakers on Thursday. The world’s largest retailer also said that it is exploring other ways to make additional information available

“We are committed to having a strong and effective global anti-corruption program everywhere we operate and taking appropriate action for any instance of non-compliance,” Brooke said.

The bribery allegations were first reported by the New York Times. Last month, the paper published another story focusing on how Wal-Mart’s Mexico division offered large payoffs to get things that the law prohibited. It focused on how Wal-Mart paid $52,000 to secure approval to build its store in Teotihuacan on the site of ancient ruins. Although local zoning would have prohibited Wal-Mart from building its store, the Times reported that the company allegedly bribed local officials to have that map redrawn.

In the Times article Wal-Mart spokesman Dave Tovar denied that executives in the U.S. knew anything about the alleged corruption involving construction of the store in Teotihuacan. However, Buchanan notes that the letter from Waxman and Cummings “leaves the wrong impression that our public statements are contradicted by the information they released today.” She says the company’s statement focused on events in 2004.

The documents released Thursday by lawmakers include an email from November 2005 from Maritza Munich, then General Counsel of Wal-Mart International to Duke and other senior Wal-Mart executives. The email informed them of charges related to bribes paid to obtain permits for a store in Mexico.

The email contained a forwarded summary of an interview with Sergio Cicero Zapata, the former in-house counsel for Wal-Mart de Mexico who oversaw obtaining building through permits throughout Mexico.

The lawmakers also made public another email that Wal-Mart General Counsel Thomas Mars sent on Oct. 15, 2005 to Duke and Tom Hyde, the executive vice-president of Wal-Mart. That email referenced to bribes paid to obtain permits for the Teotihuacan site.

“You’ll want to read this. I’m available to discuss next steps,” Mars wrote in the email.

15:51ET 10-01-13