Appeals Court Rules For Wal-Mart In Alleged Bribery Cover-Up

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. did not permit, then cover up, a pervasive bribery scheme by officials at its Mexico unit, a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Appeals Court ruled last week. That ruling upheld a lower-court finding. Chief Judge William Riley said the claims “do not give rise to a reasonable inference that Wal-Mart’s board of directors learned of the suspected bribery by Wal-Mex while the alleged bribery was being covered up and the internal investigation quashed.” The dismissal may end shareholders’ legal attempts to hold company officials liable for damages related to the 2012 scandal. The scandal broke in a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times expose in April 2012, and immediately after that the company’s stock plunged by roughly $17 billion.