Amazon bribe charge will face a full probe, that is the word coming in from government officials after reports emerged alleging that the e-commerce giant was bribing govt representatives using funds sanctioned under legal fees.
Amazon bribe charge:
A report in the Morning Context stated that according to a whistlebowler complaint, Amazon's legal representatives used money paid to them to bribe Indian officials. The complaint alleged that legal fees paid to an independent lawyer hired by the company was in part "funnelled into bribing government officials". The whistleblower’s complaint also names an independent advocate in New Delhi, who works with Amazon as an outside counsel for hire . As per The Morning Context’s sources, Amazon was one of the biggest clients for the lawyer, with an annual billing of ₹20 crore.
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Indian Govt to probe charges
As far as the government of India is concerned there is ZERO tolerance towards corruption of ANY kind in the government," NDTV reported quoting unnamed government officials Govt officials stated that as per public records Amazon has been spending more than ₹ 8,500 crore in legal fees. The govt official said "It's time to think where all it is going"
Amazon's response
"We have 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," said an Amazon spokesperson. Reports suggest Amazon has launched an internal investigation
Amazon's ongoing tussle
The development comes just months after a Reuters report alleged that Amazon had secretly favored big sellers, misrepresented its ties with those firms, and used such arrangements to circumvent India's FDI norms. CCI is currently probing the allegations.