usjusticedepartment
Latest
WSJ: Microsoft, unnamed business partners being investigated by US government over foreign bribery
Microsoft is under investigation by United States regulators over software bribery claims involving foreign government officials, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing "people familiar with the matter." The piece says both the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into the Redmond, Washington-based software giant, investigating allegations of kickbacks in China, and its "relationship with certain resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy." Though neither the Justice Department nor the SEC would confirm the investigation, Microsoft told the WSJ, "We sometimes receive allegations about potential misconduct by employees or business partners. We cooperate fully in any government inquiries," without confirming the situation. With regard to China, Microsoft's allegedly being investigated for kickbacks that its Chinese subsidiary is said to have paid for software contracts in the region. In Romania the situation is said to be similar to that in China, but in Italy it's said to involve customer loyalty plans. Update: Microsoft further outlines its response to the allegations here (though still without confirming whether or not the investigations are taking place).
US Justice Department asks FCC to delay Sprint's merger with Softbank (update: Sprint statement)
It appears that Dish wasn't the only one who wants the FCC to put the brakes on Softbank's merger with Sprint. Bloomberg reports that the US Justice Department has just requested that the FCC delay the deal as well. No word on why governmental lawyers are making the request, but we'll update this post as soon as more information is available. Update: While the DOJ has recommended that the FCC delay its approval of the deal due to national security concerns, it turns out that Dish has decided not to stand against the merger, after all. So, Sprint and Softbank have exchanged a private sector problem for a governmental one. The DOJ's scrutiny certainly provides a significant hurdle for the deal to clear, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the two telcos can never be together. We'll have to wait and see whether Uncle Sam gives the merger its final stamp of approval. Update 2: Sprint has issued a statement on the matter: 'This is a routine request when working with the CFIUS agencies regarding national security." So, it seems that the folks in Overland Park aren't overly concerned with the DOJ's snooping.
E-book publishers are now being investigated in the US, not just Europe
Just two days after the European Commission announced that it was investigating Apple and major international publishers for possible e-book price fixing, the US Justice Department has made it clear that it's also launching a probe into the possibility of "anticompetitive practices involving e-book sales." Although Justice Department officials didn't name which companies they're looking into, it's very likely that they're focusing on the same agreements between publishers and the major e-book platform owners -- either Apple or Amazon or both.
