Illegal deals: US Microsoft kickbacks probe reaches Pakistan

Microsoft business partners allegedly bribed foreign officials for contracts in Pakistan and Russia.

A US investigation into Microsoft’s relationships with business partners that allegedly bribed foreign officials in return for contracts includes activity in Pakistan and Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Citing documents, the newspaper said that a tipster, in an email to Microsoft in January, alleged the company’s executives in Pakistan paid for a Punjab government official’s five-day Egypt trip in December 2009 to secure a three-year contract to supply the government with Microsoft Office Software. The trip, which was allegedly booked by a travel consulting firm on behalf of Microsoft, included business class airfare and a stay at a luxurious hotel for the official and his wife.

The Wall Street Journal report cited the tipster as saying that three months later, Microsoft won a partnership worth roughly $9 million. It added that the Punjab government did not respond to its request for comment.

According to the report, another tipster mailed allegations to Microsoft concerning its Russian branch in March. It said the tipster alleged that a Microsoft reseller paid kickbacks to executives at a state-controlled telecommunications company for a contract, according to documents reviewed by the Journal.

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal had reported that lawyers from the US Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission were probing kickback allegations made by a former Microsoft representative in China, as well as the company’s relationships with certain resellers and consultants in Romani and Italy. While the US government hasn’t accused Microsoft or any of its business associates of wrongdoing, the report said such investigations can end with no charges being filed.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2013.