Uber reviews its Asia operations
The review comes after Uber said in August that it was co-operating with a preliminary investigation led by the US Department of Justice into whether its managers violated US laws against bribery of foreign officials, specifically the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Uber has hired law firm O’Melveny & Myers to review its Asia operations.
Bloomberg first reported Uber’s review of its Asia operations.
It said O’Melveny & Myers was examining records of payments made in Asia and interviewing employees.
It quoted people with knowledge of the matter as saying that late last year, an Uber employee in Jakarta made multiple, small payments to police on the understanding that Uber would be permitted to continue operating from an office located in a non-business zone.
Uber fired the employee and placed the head of the Indonesian business who approved the expense report on a leave of absence, said Bloomberg, citing the sources.
The head has since left the company, it reported. Jakarta Police spokesman Argo Yuwono told Reuters there was no investigation into any payments. He also said jurisdiction over location permits resided with the local government, not police.
The Department of Justice is focusing on suspicious activity in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea, Bloomberg reported. Uber’s law firm is also reviewing financial arrangements with Malaysia’s government that may have influenced lawmakers there, it said.
Uber’s financial relationship with Malaysian government-linked agencies includes a $30m (€25m) investment by the country’s second-largest pension fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP).
Uber also participated in an entrepreneurship programme initiated by the state-backed Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGic). The investment and participation were followed by passage of ride-sharing laws in July. MaGIC said: “We strongly refute involvement in any quid-pro-quo arrangements.”
Reuters
