Investigations that were initiated in China and Italy over bribery allegations on Microsoft Officials in the two countries have now spread out to include Russia and Pakistan.
Microsoft said it’s co-operating with federal authorities in investigations over possible illegal activity by employees and Business partners in Russia and Pakistan
The investigations are part of allegations passed from a tipster in China who claimed to be requested to give bribes to Chinese officials by a Microsoft executive in China, this was in 2012. The tipster, a former Microsoft employee claimed that the bribes were requested to grease the government officials so that Microsoft gets software contracts.
Microsoft, a software company has Office and Windows Operating System as the main money makers and these require software contracts with institutions, individuals and governments around the world.
According to Wall Street Journal, John Frank, Microsoft Vice President and Deputy General Counsel said that the Redmond company takes the allegations seriously and investigates them fully, regardless of the source.
“Like every large company with operations around the world we sometimes receive allegations about potential misconduct by employees or business partners,” said John Frank. “We cooperate fully in any government inquiries,” he added.
Microsoft said it employe 50 people to investigate potential breaches of company policy and has a further 120 people to ensure it complies with local laws and regulations.
