Walmart is conducting an internal investigation at Flipkart following whistleblower complaints alleging kickbacks of more than Rs1.50bn ($15.7m), Moneycontrol reported, citing unnamed sources.
The probe concerns staff in Flipkart’s smartphones and luggage and travel accessories divisions.
According to the report, the alleged misconduct involved employees receiving benefits from brands in exchange for assisting certain sellers and vendors on the platform.
Some of the suspected activity is said to be linked to Flipkart’s business-to-business operations.
Walmart is Flipkart’s parent and owns more than 80% of the Indian e-commerce company.
A source told Moneycontrol: “The employees were found to be largely exploiting the business-to-business (B2B) route at Flipkart. Some Flipkart employees took a cut from vendors of certain mobile phone brands when devices were moving from one business to another.”
One source cited by the publication said the investigation remained in progress and that the scale and precise nature of the alleged wrongdoing, including the amount received by some employees in kickbacks, would become clearer in the coming weeks. Walmart would then take action.
Walmart has launched its third investigation at Flipkart in less than three years.
Taking place over two years ago, the first examined alleged financial misappropriation in the luggage and travel accessories unit and led to the dismissal of at least three employees.
A second inquiry, carried out around six months ago in the smartphones division, resulted in one employee leaving after being found guilty of the allegations.
The latest investigation comes as Flipkart faces other issues, including senior exits, concerns among current and former employees over employee stock ownership plan liquidity, and uncertainty around the timing of a possible IPO.
Moneycontrol previously reported that at least 14 vice-presidents and senior vice-presidents had departed in the past year while at least 1,000 former employees had written to Walmart’s board seeking parity with current staff in the event of a stock buyback.
