Wal-Mart's Mexican bribery case costing $400M

The fallout from a Mexican bribery case involving Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expected to cost the international retailer $400 million by the end of its fiscal year in January, according to Arkansas Business.

Anticipated losses stemming from shareholder lawsuits that are currently making their way through the courts are driving the year-end tally. The company also is the subject of investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice, though Wal-Mart did not estimate losses from the federal investigations. Federal regulators had not brought criminal charges against the retailer as of Dec. 9.

In November 2011, the company told the SEC about an internal investigation it was conducting involving bribery by company officials working in Mexico. In April 2012, the New York Times published an article that said Wal-Mart’s Mexican division had paid Mexican officials $24 million in bribes to speed up the process of opening stores.

That article became the basis for several shareholder suits alleging Wal-Mart executives weren’t acting in the best interest of the company.  

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