Financial Transparency Coalition

WASHINGTON, DC – A letter published yesterday by two influential U.S. Congressmen suggests that Wal-Mart de Mexico (Walmex), the Mexican subsidiary of U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which recently came under fire for possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, may have been engaged in money laundering and tax evasion in Mexico.

This spring, reports surfaced that Wal-Mart's Mexico arm may have engaged in widespread bribery in order to rapidly increase its presence in Mexico. Even immediately after the initial New York Times story, the company itself hinted that a thorough investigation may turn up even more.

In April, The New York Times published the revealing story about Wal-Mart’s alleged bribery activity involving its largest subsidiary, Wal-Mart de Mexico. Now, nearly a month and a half since the article was published in the NY Times, many shareholders of Wal-Mart have displayed dissatisfaction. In a shareholders meeting on Friday, June 1, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a vote for the Wal-Mart Board of Directors illustrated the rising disapproval of Wal-Mart’s actions.

The fallout from the scandal surrounding the discovery that Wal-Mart headquarters suppressed an internal investigation when it discovered its Mexican subsidiary had been systematically paying bribes has been swift and significant. According to an investigative piece in the New York Times, Wal-Mart used bribes not only to obtain permits for its stores, but to reduce the time required for those permits, from months to days or weeks. The public outcry to denounce the corporation has been loud. But not everyone has joined the opprobrium. Many have said, either implicitly or explicitly, that Wal-Mart was doing business the way business needs...