Supermarket giant Walmart is investigating whether some of its international employees flouted U.S. anti-corruption laws.

In particular, the company is looking to see if staff complied with permitting, licensing and inspections under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Investor relations spokeswoman Carol Schumacher, told www.freshfruitportal.com the company was unable to comment in more detail about the investigation.

"At this point it's an ongoing investigation and we are not commenting beyond what we said in our latest quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)."

The investigation was prompted following an internal review on its policies and controls on corruption.

Walmart, which has operations in 28 countries, said it didn't think the news would have a detrimental effect on its business.

"Based on the facts currently known, we do not believe that these matters will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows," it said.

However, following the Dec. 8 SEC filing its shares slipped 0.2% to US$57.85 but have now bounced back to US$58.44.

The company has employed external lawyers and other advisors to help it with its review and said it would be implementing "appropriate remedial" measures.

Photo: Wal-mart

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