U.S. authorities are considering launching a wide-ranging examination of the retail industry for violations of an anti-foreign bribery law, after Wal-Mart and other retailers have come forth with their own potential offenses, people familiar with the matter said.

Retailers have been reviewing their international operations in light of a bribery scandal at Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s (WMT) operations in Mexico that is the subject of investigations by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The conduct was thrown into the public spotlight in April, when a New York Times report said that management at Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX) orchestrated bribes of $24 million to help it grow quickly in the last decade and that Wal-Mart’s top brass tried to cover it up.

Source: Yahoo Finance News