CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (N:WMT) is preparing to pay about $300 million to settle a probe of bribery by its employees in markets including Mexico, India and China, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The deal, which would mark a significant concession by the U.S. government, was being finalized and could change, the Bloomberg report said. In October 2016, Wal-Mart rebuffed a proposal by U.S. prosecutors to pay at least $600 million to settle the same corruption probe.
Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Hitt declined to comment on the story. Last week , Wal-Mart told Reuters it was considering getting certified under a new international program that could help companies defend themselves against isolated cases of corruption or poor business practices.
The proposed resolution would require a guilty plea by at least one Wal-Mart subsidiary, but the parent company would not be charged, the report said.
The U.S. Department of Justice has been conducting a long-running investigation into potential misconduct by Wal-Mart in some overseas markets, including China, Brazil, India and Mexico.
Wal-Mart's ethics and compliance system came into focus after the New York Times reported in 2012 that Wal-Mart had engaged in a multi-year bribery campaign to build its Wal-Mart de Mexico business.
So far Wal-Mart has spent more than $800 million on legal fees and an internal investigation into the alleged payments and to revamp its compliance systems around the world.