U.S. officials have joined Russian and German authorities in looking into allegations that Hewlett-Packard may have paid millions in bribes to win a computer equipment contract.
HP acknowledged Friday that the company has been contacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and it "will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities investigating this matter," an HP spokeswoman told CNET.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the Department of Justice, along with the SEC, are trying to determine whether HP violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The anti-bribery law prohibits American companies from making payments to foreign government officials to obtain business.
The Journal first reported Wednesday that German prosecutors are investigating whether HP paid $10.9 million for the chance to sell a sophisticated computer system providing secured communications to the Russian prosecutor general's office through a German subsidiary company. HP's offices in Moscow were raided Wednesday by Russian investigators looking into the matter on behalf of the German prosecutors.
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