A. Introduction
In 2012, David Barstow and Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab exposed a large scale series of bribes involving Wal-Mart de Mexico and the construction of a Wal-Mart store near the ancient pyramid ruins of Teotihuacán (1). The Pulitzer Prize winning exposé detailed example after example of bribery and corruption that was ignored by the Wal-Mart headquarters (2). In 2005, a senior Wal-Mart lawyer received information from a former executive (Sergio Cicero Zapata) of Wal-Mart de Mexico.
B. Background
Based on the email and subsequent interviews, Zapata laid out how Wal-Mart de Mexico had engaged in a long term series of bribes in its rush to build a store in Teotihuacan, Mexico (3). Specifically,
• Wal-Mart de Mexico allegedly bribed …show more content…
and Mexican regulations. --bribes to speed up zoning variances, building permits, environmental clearances
• The bribes were allegedly hidden from Wal-Mart's headquarters by disguising them as legitimate expenditures.
• Sergio Cicero Zapata, who was the primary handler of the bribes, detailed his behavior to a Wal-Mart's lawyer (Maritza Munich), implicating Wal-Mart officials as approving the bribes.
• Wal-Mart's headquarters launched an investigation into the allegations. Despite finding overwhelming evidence of illegal behavior, Wal-Mart shut down the investigation.
• The CEO of Wal-Mart de Mexico at the time, Eduardo Castro-Wright, allegedly approved of the bribes. Later, Castro-Wright was promoted to Executive Vice President of Wal-Mart.
• Instead of hiring an outside legal firm to perform an objective investigation, Wal-Mart assigned the investigation to Walmart de Mexico. The investigation was quickly discontinued.
• Walmart's CEO at the time, H. Lee Scott, Jr., was informed of the investigators’ findings. He reportedly called the company's investigators “too
In 2012, David Barstow and Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab exposed a large scale series of bribes involving Wal-Mart de Mexico and the construction of a Wal-Mart store near the ancient pyramid ruins of Teotihuacán (1). The Pulitzer Prize winning exposé detailed example after example of bribery and corruption that was ignored by the Wal-Mart headquarters (2). In 2005, a senior Wal-Mart lawyer received information from a former executive (Sergio Cicero Zapata) of Wal-Mart de Mexico.
B. Background
Based on the email and subsequent interviews, Zapata laid out how Wal-Mart de Mexico had engaged in a long term series of bribes in its rush to build a store in Teotihuacan, Mexico (3). Specifically,
• Wal-Mart de Mexico allegedly bribed …show more content…
and Mexican regulations. --bribes to speed up zoning variances, building permits, environmental clearances
• The bribes were allegedly hidden from Wal-Mart's headquarters by disguising them as legitimate expenditures.
• Sergio Cicero Zapata, who was the primary handler of the bribes, detailed his behavior to a Wal-Mart's lawyer (Maritza Munich), implicating Wal-Mart officials as approving the bribes.
• Wal-Mart's headquarters launched an investigation into the allegations. Despite finding overwhelming evidence of illegal behavior, Wal-Mart shut down the investigation.
• The CEO of Wal-Mart de Mexico at the time, Eduardo Castro-Wright, allegedly approved of the bribes. Later, Castro-Wright was promoted to Executive Vice President of Wal-Mart.
• Instead of hiring an outside legal firm to perform an objective investigation, Wal-Mart assigned the investigation to Walmart de Mexico. The investigation was quickly discontinued.
• Walmart's CEO at the time, H. Lee Scott, Jr., was informed of the investigators’ findings. He reportedly called the company's investigators “too