Insider Employees in China's Adidas Factory Allege Corruption Involving Millions
On a Chinese platform, a post surfaces, written by an individual claiming to be an Adidas China staff member. They make explosive claims against top-tier executives within the company. The issue surrounds payoffs from external partners and huge sums of money from vendors.
As reported by the "Financial Times" (FT), Adidas is probing corruption allegations against high-ranking individuals in China. The catalyst seems to be a letter from Adidas China employees, where specific employees of the sports equipment maker are named and charged with misappropriating millions of euros, according to the paper's insiders. The letter's author remains anonymous, but they allegedly work for the firm. The FT reveals that the letter went live, briefly, on the Chinese online platform Xiaohongshu.
One of the accused executives holds a prominent marketing role, dealing with Adidas' annual marketing budget in the country, estimated at 250 million euros, according to the document. Allegations point to bribes being doled out to external service providers contracted by the German company. Another high-ranking Adidas manager is accused of pocketing "millions in cash from suppliers and assets including real estate."
The "Financial Times" quotes "Adidas Insiders," who affirm that the letter's authors did not supply "solid proof" of corruption but were well-versed in confidential and internal company matters.
Adidas gave a terse response to a comment request from Dow Jones Newswires. The company told the British newspaper that they received a letter on June 7, which mentioned "possible compliance violations in China." Adidas maintains their commitment to adhering to legal regulations and ethical standards across all markets and is now conducting an intense investigation into the issue with the aid of external legal advisors.
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Despite Adidas' ongoing investigation into corruption allegations in China, some critics question the company's effectiveness in combating such issues within their Chinese operations. In light of these accusations, it's been reported that China's Adidas factory employees are calling for stricter anti-corruption measures from the global sports equipment maker.
Additionally, concerns have been raised about Adidas' corporate reputation in China, where allegations of corruption at the highest levels could potentially harm their relationship with local partners and consumers.
