SEC’s Fort Worth Office Leads Inquiry Against Wal-Mart

The Fort Worth Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C. and New York are leading the investigation into whether Wal-Mart officials violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by making illegal cash payments to Mexican officials in return for receiving licenses and permits to open and operate new stores, lawyers familiar with the inquiry said Monday.

Allegations that Wal-Mart bribed Mexican officials and that senior-level executives then covered up those abuses were revealed in an article in the New York Times on Sunday.