Feb. 14 – Avon Products Inc., the world’s largest door-to-door cosmetics merchant, is still in the midst of bribery rumors four years after the U.S. company started an internal anti-corruption investigation.

Federal prosecutors are now probing a 2005 draft internal report by the company which raised concern over Avon’s compliance with U.S. anti-bribery laws, and have presented evidence to a U.S. grand jury, according to both Reuters and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The 2005 report, which found several hundred thousand dollars in questionable payments to Chinese officials and third-party consultants during that year, warned Avon’s actions may in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a U.S. law promulgated in 1977 and used to bar U.S. companies from paying bribes to foreign officials. The report also suggested steps to follow up on the case. Continue reading →