Amazon emphasized that it has zero tolerance for transplantation and will thoroughly investigate all corruption allegations in response to reports from Indian news organizations that the US e-commerce giant has launched an internal investigation into bribery allegations.Â
What Happened?
 On Monday, the American company investigated the actions of its legal representatives in India. The Morning Context is a two-year-old media website that usually deals with local affairs. On Monday, three people who were familiar with the matter got investigated. Amazon did not elaborate in the report but stated after Bloomberg contacted a provincial spokesperson for comment.
The Morning Context stated that a portion of Amazon’s legal fees was “remitted” to one or more of its legal representatives to bribe government officials.
According to the report, Amazon’s internal investigation focused on the company’s senior legal adviser on leave and an independent lawyer from Delhi. It also conducted a broader research and interviewed other legal representatives. They also include the law firm AZB & Partners.
“The question under investigation is ancient and involves differences in the use of funds provided by the company’s internal legal counsel and the law firm hired by Amazon India,” said the executive mentioned above.
The email to AZB & Partners caused no response. Suppose Amazon employees in India participate in bribery of government officials. In that case, this e-commerce company may be affected by the US FCPA, which gets enforced by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice.
The FCPA law prohibits US companies and individuals from paying bribes to foreign officials for further business transactions.
In the past, several companies got investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for violating the FCPA. In 2019, IT services company Cognizant agreed to pay $25 million to resolve anti-bribery, internal accounting controls, and record-keeping violations.
Two former Cognizant officials also got accused of authorizing a US$2.5 million bribe to a government official in India.
The supreme court of India
Last month, the Supreme Court of India launched an antitrust investigation against Amazon’s local department and Flipkart for allegedly abusing its dominant position by offering substantial discounts and preferential treatment to some suppliers.
After years of protests by local brick-and-mortar retailers, the South Asian country is tightening supervision of online retailers, and they worry that fierce global competition may bankrupt them.
In India, following reports of alleged bribery by Amazon officials, the business organization All India Chamber of Traders (CAIT) called for a CBI investigation.
The matter was related to government credibility and contradicted the vision of eliminating corruption at all levels.
CAIT has issued a notice to Secretary of Commerce Piyush Goyal, stating that it will also postpone a request to Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, for a “fair and independent investigation” of the matter.
Other cases
Similarly, Mondelez International, a snack food manufacturer that owns the Cadbury chocolate brand, agreed in 2017 to pay a fine of $13 million in violation of the FCPA.
One of its subsidiaries illegally paid to obtain a government license and permit for a chocolate factory in Baddi Certificate, Himachal Pradesh.
