Wal-Mart Asked to Pay $300 Million to Settle Bribery Probe

Wal-Mart will be asked to pay $300 million to settle a five-year investigation into foreign bribery activities. TheStreet reports the offer would be a fraction of the $1 billion settlement the Obama administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Justice Department had sought. It's reported that Wal-Mart spent about $840 million on its own internal investigation, according to company filings, into the allegations that it bribed Mexican officials in order to get the go ahead to build stores there.

Total Retail's Take: Seems like this five-year case may finally have an end in sight. This lawsuit is one of several targeting Wal-Mart after The New York Times in April 2012 reported that the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer bribed Mexican officials for years to speed up store openings in the country. Last we reported, a judge dismissed the case.