Amazon Investigating Bribery Claims in India

Amazon India

Amazon is investigating whether its legal representatives in India used legal fees paid for by the retail giant to bribe government officials.

Reuters reported on the anti-corruption investigation Monday (Sept. 20), citing a source with direct knowledge of the probe, which stems from a whistleblower case, and also citing a report by The Morning Context, a news outlet.

Amazon did not respond to questions from Reuters beyond saying it has “zero tolerance” for corruption.

“We take allegations of improper actions seriously, investigate them fully, and take appropriate action. We are not commenting on specific allegations or the status of any investigation at this time,” a company spokesman said.

According to the Reuters source, Amazon has been delving into the matter for about two months following a complaint about dealings between a member of the Amazon India legal team, Rahul Sundaram, and an outside counsel.

Reuters said Sundaram, who is reportedly on leave, referred questions to Amazon.

Read more: Walmart, Amazon, To Face Indian Antitrust Probe

The news comes at a time when Amazon and Walmart are facing antitrust investigations in India over their eCommerce practices.

India’s top court approved an investigation last month, following an order by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to look into whether Amazon and Walmart’s Indian eCommerce arm, Flipkart, promoted select sellers on their platforms and used tactics that hindered competition.

Both companies have indicated they will cooperate in the investigation, but have denied wrongdoing and waged legal battles against the probe, arguing the commission doesn’t have enough evidence to proceed.

And Flipkart has also argued the edifice against the two companies was “qualitatively different” and that the antitrust suit seemed to ignore the fact that Amazon and Flipkart are “fierce competitors.”

The CCI also recently investigated Google, saying the search giant used its dominant position to stifle competition. In a report issued earlier this year, the CCI investigations unit said Google allegedly cut down on “the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell devices operating on alternative versions of Android.”