US Department of Justice launches IBM overseas bribery investigation

May 3, according to foreign media reports, IBM in a public document, said the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether the company in the conduct of the business involved in bribery. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating IBM's global "overseas Anti-Corruption Law" compliance program and its business in the public sector, IBM said in a April 30 filing. The main objective of the survey was to deal with companies in Poland, Argentina, Bangladesh and Ukraine. IBM said it was cooperating with the investigation. In fact, this is not the first time IBM was investigated for bribery, IBM in the process of entering the Chinese market, but also several times into bribery door. The first time around 2006, IBM was suspected to have bribed the former Chinese construction Bank president Enzhao for the disk incident of the China Construction Bank's procurement of disaster preparedness equipment. IBM was then sued, during the period from 2004 to 2009, to use travel agencies to set up a slush fund to pay some Chinese government officials for overseas travel and other travel expenses, as well as cash rewards and improper gifts. The United States has a very strict demand for companies to expand and operate overseas. The U.S. Bribery Act, the so-called anti-foreign bribery law, has long been in place. The Obama administration November 15, 2012 announced a renewed focus on American companies ' decision to pay bribes to overseas officials. Before the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission issued this guideline, American business groups complained that such a crackdown could hurt U.S. companies ' competitiveness overseas. The crackdown on American companies ' bribery abroad has started in the Bush administration and has accelerated during the Obama administration. (Eight items)