Shareholder Sues Wal-Mart’s Board Over Mexican Bribes

A shareholder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sued the board of directors of the Bentonville retailer Wednesday for the alleged "widespread and systematic scheme to bribe Mexican officials."

John Cottrell of Texas filed the derivative lawsuit on behalf of Wal-Mart in the Western District of Arkansas. Cottrell seeks to recover for Wal-Mart and its shareholders "the hundreds of millions of dollars of financial and reputational damages caused by" the retailer’s alleged bribery scandal, reported by The New York Times on April 21.

"As a result the Company is now subject to serious legal liability," Cottrell said in the lawsuit.

"We’ve received the lawsuit and are reviewing it closely," Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar told Arkansas Business on Friday. "The claims in this complaint related to allegations raised a few days ago against the company are being investigated thoroughly."

Cottrell said Wal-Mart faces federal and private investigations, lawsuits, settlements and consent orders for the board members’ alleged breaches of their fiduciary duty tied to the scandal.

He is seeking an unspecified amount of damages against the Wal-Mart board, which includes current Wal-Mart president and CEO Mike Duke.

Wal-Mart issued a news release on Tuesday and said it has been working on the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance "and has a rigorous process in place to quickly and aggressively manage issues like this when they arise."

"We will not tolerate noncompliance with FCPA anywhere or at any level of the company," the news release said. "We are confident we are conducting a comprehensive investigation and if violations of our policies occurred, we will take appropriate action."