Ethics for Sale at Wal-Mart

It was reported, over the weekend, that Wal-Mart has been involved, over a number of years, in bribery of high-level Mexican officials in order to fast-track building permits in the company’s largest international division, Wal-Mart de Mexico. This activity took place, while the company was actively, along with other large businesses, lobbying to soften the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits the bribing of foreign officials to get business abroad. On top of this, it was disclosed that senior Wal-Mart executives deliberately obstructed an internal probe into this matter and, eventually, stifled it altogether. It appears, that along with the products that consumers want, ethics are also for sale at Wal-Mart.