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Claim review. Bribery

Partly supported

A material part is supported, but the published wording goes beyond the record.

An Associated Press report of 21 April 2012, relaying a New York Times investigation, said Wal-Mart investigators in Mexico found hundreds of suspect payments totaling more than US$24 million and that the company ended its internal probe.

a paper trail of hundreds of suspect payments totaling more than $24 million
About
Walmart Inc.
Claim made by
Associated Press, press report
Published
21 April 2012
Original
Wal-Mart covered up bribe campaign in Mexico, report says
Evidence score
77 How it was scored
Last reviewed
25 October 2026

Why this label

The 2019 SEC order confirms the core of the account about the internal inquiry. It says the Mexico subsidiary frequently used intermediaries known as gestores, some of whom made improper payments, and that Walmart did not follow its investigators' proposed action plansS3. The Justice Department says a former subsidiary lawyer reported the matter to Walmart in 2005S4. Neither US authority found that Mexican officials were bribed. The SEC charged only books and records and internal controls violationsS2S3. The order describes improper payments in India and Brazil only as background to the controls chargesS3. The US$24 million figure appears in the AP report and in a congressional letter citing the TimesS1S6, not in the US enforcement records. The report's description of a halted inquiry is supported, but its bribery account goes beyond what the US records established.

Current procedural position

No US finding of bribery in Mexico. SEC cease-and-desist order on books and records and internal controls entered on 20 June 2019S3. Three-year non-prosecution agreement announced on 20 June 2019S4.

Record supporting the assessment

Mexico Subsidiary frequently employed TPIs, known as gestores, who in some cases made improper payments
S3 Tier A US Securities and Exchange Commission, Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, In the Matter of Walmart Inc., Release No. 86159, 20 June 2019
did not follow the investigators’ proposed action plans
S3 Tier A US Securities and Exchange Commission, Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, In the Matter of Walmart Inc., Release No. 86159, 20 June 2019
In Mexico, a former attorney for Walmart’s local subsidiary reported to Walmart in 2005
S4 Tier A US Department of Justice, Walmart Inc. and Brazil-Based Subsidiary Agree to Pay $137 Million to Resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Case, 20 June 2019
uncovered evidence of more than $24 million in bribes allegedly used to facilitate the process of obtaining permits
S6 Tier A US House of Representatives, Ranking Members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Letter to Michael T. Duke, Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 23 April 2012

Conflicting or limiting record

operated without a system of sufficient anti-corruption related internal accounting controls
S3 Tier A US Securities and Exchange Commission, Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, In the Matter of Walmart Inc., Release No. 86159, 20 June 2019
anti-corruption internal controls in Brazil, Mexico, India and China prior to April 2011
S5 Tier B Walmart Inc. (Form 8-K exhibit), Walmart Reaches Agreements with the DOJ and the SEC to Resolve their FCPA Investigations, 20 June 2019

Evidence score: 77 of 100

The score grades how well the record establishes this assessment. It is not a score of Walmart Inc.. Score = source authority + directness + corroboration + procedural accuracy + currency + reproducibility.

ComponentPointsMaxReason
Source authorityIs the source competent to establish the proposition?2630The SEC order and DOJ release are competent records, but they address controls rather than the reported payments.
DirectnessDoes the source state the proposition or only discuss adjacent facts?1320The records describe the Mexico inquiry but do not state the payment total or a bribery finding.
CorroborationDo independent records support the same material point?1115The SEC order and the DOJ release agree on the 2005 report and the inquiry, and a congressional letter confirms what the Times reported.
Procedural accuracyDoes the record settle the procedural state the claim describes?1015The resolutions are final, but they settle controls charges and not the bribery account.
CurrencyHas the record been checked against later developments?810No later US proceeding on Mexico was found, and the NPA term has run.
ReproducibilityCan a reader locate the passage and repeat the assessment?910The SEC order, DOJ release and congressional letter are public, and the original Times article is paywalled.
Total77100

Timeline

  1. AP relays the New York Times report on MexicoS1
  2. House committee ranking members write to Wal-Mart's chief executive citing the Times reportS6
  3. SEC order and DOJ resolution announcedS2S4

Related cases

  • In the Matter of Walmart Inc.US Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulatory. Administrative Proceeding File No. 3-19207.Stage: Cease-and-desist order entered on consent on 20 June 2019.
    • Order finds books and records and internal controls violations and orders disgorgement of US$119,647,735 and interest of US$25,043,437S3
  • United States v. WMT Brasilia S.a.r.l. and non-prosecution agreement with Walmart Inc.US Department of Justice, Criminal Division Fraud Section and US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Criminal. Not published.Stage: Non-prosecution agreement with a three-year term. WMT Brasilia pleaded guilty on 20 June 2019.
    • NPA with Walmart and guilty plea by WMT Brasilia, combined criminal penalty of US$137 millionS4

Responses

  • Walmart Inc., 21 April 2012: A Walmart spokesman said the company was deeply concerned and was working to determine what happened, and said many of the alleged activities occurred more than six years earlier.S1

Revision history

  • Assessment first published with label Partly supported.

Have a record that changes this assessment? See corrections and responses.

Sources

  1. S3Tier A Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, In the Matter of Walmart Inc., Release No. 86159US Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulator order. 20 June 2019.Describes the 2005 Mexico allegations and inquiry and finds books and records and internal controls violations only. It describes improper payments in India and Brazil as background and charges no anti-bribery violation.
  2. S4Tier A Walmart Inc. and Brazil-Based Subsidiary Agree to Pay $137 Million to Resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act CaseUS Department of Justice. Regulator press release. 20 June 2019.Supports the NPA, the WMT Brasilia plea and the penalty. It does not give a case number.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
  3. S6Tier A Letter to Michael T. Duke, Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.US House of Representatives, Ranking Members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Commission report. 23 April 2012.Congressional letter that cites the Times article by title and date and restates its US$24 million figure. It records what the Times reported and is not a finding.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
  4. S5Tier B Walmart Reaches Agreements with the DOJ and the SEC to Resolve their FCPA InvestigationsWalmart Inc. (Form 8-K exhibit). Company statement. 20 June 2019.Company's account of the resolution and payment total. It makes no statement on the 2012 allegations.
  5. S1Tier C Wal-Mart covered up bribe campaign in Mexico, report saysAssociated Press (via Fox News). Press report. 21 April 2012.AP summary, with no named reporter, of the New York Times investigation and Walmart's response. The Times article was titled Vast Mexico Bribery Case Hushed Up by Wal-Mart After Top-Level Struggle and dated 21 April 2012, as cited in (S6). It reports allegations and is not a finding.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
  6. S2Tier A Walmart Charged With FCPA ViolationsUS Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulator press release. 20 June 2019.Supports the charges, the four countries and the amounts. It makes no separate bribery finding for Mexico.

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