ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) – Walmart has agreed to pay a $138 million criminal
penalty to settle a Justice Department claim that it and a Brazilian subsidiary violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The settlement was reached Thursday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.
Court documents state the Brazilian subsidiary made $527,000 in payments
to an intermediary known as the “sorceress” for her ability to expedite
construction permits.
Walmart did not immediately respond to a call and emails seeking comment.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, companies including
Halliburton, Anheuser-Busch InBev, JPMorgan and Panasonic Corp. have all reached multimillion settlements under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act since 2016.
Walmart reported $3.84 billion in profit in its most recent quarterly
earnings.
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