E-Malt.com News article: India: AB InBev’s India operations investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s operations in India are being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The world’s largest brewer disclosed the investigation in a regulatory filing on March, 25, STLToday.com reports.

“We have been informed by the SEC that it is conducting an investigation into our affiliates in India, including our nonconsolidated Indian joint venture, InBev Indian Int’l Private Ltd., and whether certain relationships of agents and employees were compliant with the FCPA,” Belgium-based AB InBev said in the filing. “We are investigating the conduct in question and cooperating with the SEC.”

The brewer has a fully owned Indian subsidiary, Crown Beers India, and it also holds a minority position in a joint venture with the RKJ Group, an Indian beverage company.

The anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA prohibit paying foreign government officials for assisting with obtaining or retaining business. Another corporate giant, Wal-Mart Stores, also is in the midst of an investigation of whether it violated the FCPA, related to its operations in Mexico.

AB InBev, which has its North American headquarters in St. Louis, announced a long-term joint venture with an RKJ Group, in 2007, and began selling Budweiser and a few other brands in India through the joint venture in 2009. Its market share in India is 2 percent, a company spokeswoman said.

Responding to the SEC probe, a company spokeswoman said AB InBev has an extensive compliance program with “robust policies, training, and an employee hotline,” and noted that the investigation is in an early stage and no claims have been asserted by regulators.

“We work closely with our partners around the world to see that they also have appropriate compliance in place,” AB InBev spokeswoman Laura Vallis wrote in an email. “We do not tolerate any violations and are fully cooperating with this investigation.”

The SEC declined to comment.

Increasing global sales of Budweiser is a key growth initiative of AB InBev. For the first time, more than half of Budweiser volume — 51 percent — is now sold outside of the U.S., the company said last month.

Globally, Budweiser volume grew 6.4 percent last year, AB InBev said when it released its fourth-quarter and fiscal year-end earnings results at the end of February.

27 March, 2013