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Microsoft is under investigation by United States regulators over software bribery claims involving foreign government officials, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing “people familiar with the matter.” The piece says both the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into the Redmond, Washington-based software giant, investigating allegations of kickbacks in China, and its “relationship with certain resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy.” Though neither the Justice Department nor the SEC would confirm the investigation, Microsoft told the WSJ, “We sometimes receive allegations about potential misconduct by employees or business partners. We cooperate fully in any government inquiries,” without confirming the situation.

With regard to China, Microsoft’s allegedly being investigated for kickbacks that its Chinese subsidiary is said to have paid for software contracts in the region. In Romania the situation is said to be similar to that in China, but in Italy it’s said to involve customer loyalty plans.

Update: Microsoft further outlines its response to the allegations here (though still without confirming whether or not the investigations are taking place).

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Source: The Wall Street Journal

The legal system’s engines can take awhile to get churning, but there’s no questioning the impact when they’re at full bore. German prosecutors have wrapped up an almost three-year investigation into allegations of HP managers’ bribery by charging the executives involved. Hilmar Lorenz, Päivi Tiippana and Ken Willett, along with claimed accomplice Ralf Krippner, have all been indicted for supposedly funneling €7.5 million ($9.7 million) in bribes through a German subsidiary and far-flung shell accounts to land a €35 million ($45.3 million) PC supply deal with Russia’s Prosecutor General Office early in the previous decade. While only the people directly attached to the scandal currently face any consequences if found guilty, German lawyers are motioning to have the PC builder attached to the case, and there’s a chance the formal charges could fuel an ongoing US investigation. HP is cooperating even as it’s trying to distance itself from the indictments as much as possible — these are for old allegations and a “former HP company,” it says. While we don’t yet know the whole story, it may be a protracted tale knowing that at least Tiippana and Willett plan to fight the accusations.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

German prosecution charges HP staff with bribing Russian officials to clinch PC contract originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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