Adidas investigates bribery allegations in China, FT says

Adidas has launched an investigation into allegations of large-scale bribery in China after the company received a whistle-blower complaint that accused senior staff of embezzling “millions of euros,” the Financial Times reported Sunday.

The anonymous letter, which claims to have been written by “employees of Adidas China,” names several Chinese Adidas employees including a senior manager involved with the marketing budget in the country, which the document said stood at €250-million ($367.7-million) a year, the FT reported.

Adidas confirmed that it had received an anonymous letter on June 7 indicating potential compliance violations in China. The German sportswear company said it was investigating this matter together with external legal counsel.

“Adidas takes allegations of possible compliance violations very seriously and is clearly committed to complying with legal and internal regulations and ethical standards in all markets where we operate,” it said in a statement issued in response to a Reuters query. Adidas said it could not provide further information until the investigation was completed.

According to the FT, the letter alleges that Adidas staff received kickbacks from external service providers, who were commissioned by the company, that included “millions in cash from suppliers, and physical items such as real estate.”

Chinese sales of the German sportswear giant grew by 8 per cent in the first quarter, the company reported earlier.