bribery

Federal regulators are looking into an alleged bribery scheme involving Microsoft and its partners in China, Italy, and Romania, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

According to the report, lawyers at the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are focused on allegations of kickbacks in China, as well as the company's relationship with resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy.

While Microsoft did not directly acknowledge the investigation, it said in a statement provided to CNET that it takes such allegations "seriously" and cooperates with government inquiries "fully."

"Like other large … Read more

Foxconn is cooperating with Chinese authorities investigating allegations that executives at the electronics manufacturer received illegal bribes from supply chain partners.

The company, which produces consumer electronics for companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Sony, said in a statement that it brought in law enforcement officials to work with an internal audit team investigating the charges "against a number of Foxconn employees."

The statement comes after Taiwan-based Next Magazine reported that a Foxconn executive had been arrested in September as part of the allegations. When queried by CNET, a Foxconn representative declined to address whether an … Read more

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Oracle under the Foreign Corrupt Practices act for failing to keep its India subsidiary from creating a slush fund used to pay phony vendors.

According to an SEC statement, Oracle settled the charges by paying a $2 million fine. For Oracle, the SEC flap is the latest court setback. For example, Hewlett-Packard recently won lawsuit over Oracle's decision to not support Itanium. The Itanium suit is a problem for Oracle, which will likely appeal the setback since HP could garner significant damages. The Java loss vs. Google was also notable … Read more

The U.S. government has widened its probe into possible bribes paid by Hewlett-Packard to help it capture a lucrative contract in Russia.

Officials in the U.S., Germany, and Russia have been investigating allegations that current and former employees of HP engaged in bribery, embezzlement, and tax evasion in connection with a business deal between Hewlett-Packard ISE GmbH, a former HP German subsidiary, and the chief public prosecutor's office in Russia, according to an SEC document filed by HP on Thursday (see Note 16 under Russia GPO and Related Investigations).

According to the allegations, the HP subsidiary paid … Read more

The Department of Justice has requested Hewlett-Packard turn over company documents connected to an ongoing investigation by the German government into charges of bribery, according to a report published Friday.

The Wall Street Journal cites unnamed sources that say the Justice Department has asked HP for company records, but has not subpoenaed them yet.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. An HP spokeswoman said, "HP is and has been fully cooperating with all authorities on this matter."

Reports surfaced in April that German prosecutors were investigating whether the computing giant paid $10.9 … Read more

U.S. officials have joined Russian and German authorities in looking into allegations that Hewlett-Packard may have paid millions in bribes to win a computer equipment contract.

HP acknowledged Friday that the company has been contacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and it "will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities investigating this matter," an HP spokeswoman told CNET.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the Department of Justice, along with the SEC, are trying to determine whether HP violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The anti-bribery law prohibits American companies from making payments to foreign … Read more

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched its own inquiry into whether Hewlett-Packard paid bribes to win a computer contract with a unit of the Russian government, according to a report on Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.

The move by regulators here follows reports on Wednesday that Russian investigators, acting at the request of German officials, raided HP's Russian offices. According to The Wall Street Journal, German prosecutors are investigating whether HP paid $10.9 million in an attempt to sell a sophisticated computer system to the Russian prosecutor general's office.

"HP has been … Read more

Hewlett-Packard is being scrutinized by authorities in Germany and Russia for paying bribes to win a contract to sell computers to the Russian government, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal cites "people familiar with the matter" in reporting that German prosecutors are investigating whether HP paid $10.9 million for the chance to sell a sophisticated computer system providing secured communications to the Russian prosecutor general's office through a German subsidiary company.

HP's offices in Moscow were reportedly raided Wednesday by Russian investigators looking into the matter on behalf of the German prosecutors. Specifically, … Read more

Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee was indicted on charges of evading taxes on billions of dollars he hid in stock accounts under the names of his aides, The New York Times is reporting.

He also faces criminal charges of breach of trust, stemming from his involvement in arranging for company subsidiaries "to sell stock to his son" at "unfairly low prices" to help his son "take over management control," The Times says. Lee was cleared, however, of more serious allegations he starting a slush fund worth $215 million used to bribe prosecutors, judges, and other public officials.… Read more