For the second time in the last several months (News Corp in July was the other example), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was the dominant news story around the world. As a friend stated mid-day, it really is an FCPA world.
Today’s post will be a short post, but will keep you informed on Wal-Mart related developments.
The company’s stock dropped approximately 4.7% in the first day of trading after the New York Times investigative piece from the weekend. See here for the prior post discussing the Times article and here for additional analysis.
Congress is demanding answers. In this letter to Wal-Mart CEO Michael Dukes, Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Henry Waxman (D-CA), Ranking Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce state “we are initiating an investigation into [the matters discussed in the New York Times article] and request a meeting with company officials who can respond to these allegations no later than April 27.”
Plaintiff law firms are also already demanding answers. See here, here, and here.
Others – just like in the News Corp. situation from last summer – are using Wal-Mart’s FCPA scrutiny to further their anti-FCPA reform positions – see here (“while Wal-Mart’s largest subsidiary spent millions of dollars systematically bribing Mexican officials, the company back home has been working, through big business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act”); while others predict, wrongly in my estimation, that Wal-Mart’s FCPA scrutiny “will sound the death knell for any efforts to amend the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” (see here).
It’s an FCPA world.
