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The SEC also determined that Microsoft's Saudi and Thai subsidiaries offered "inappropriate travel and gifts" (read more bribes) to officials and staff of non-government clients. The Turkish unit offered an "excessive rebate" to a third party without any sign of services offered, although US regulators refrained from alleging bribery.
In a message to staff, Microsoft president Brad Smith said the company had fired the offending employees more than three years ago and broken ties with four resellers. As a result, it has improved its anti-corruption efforts, including transparency of public sector rebates and the use of AI to report potentially illegal sales. However, the company had to fight – she had to face lawsuits from dealers thwarted by the lost deal. However, Microsoft finally prevailed and said that it was important to "cut all links" with any company involved in this behavior.
This is not the first time that a large American technology firm is involved in corruption allegations in Europe. HP staff was accused in 2012 of corrupting Russian officials to obtain a computer contract. However, it is still a relatively rare incident and a headache for a company that was supposed to have left its legal problems in the past.
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