Adidas is conducting an internal investigation following allegations of widespread bribery involving senior staff in its China operations, as reported by the Financial Times. The probe was initiated in response to a whistleblower complaint from purported Adidas China employees. The anonymous letter accuses several individuals of accepting kickbacks from external service providers.
According to sources familiar with the matter cited in the FT report, a senior manager from another division is alleged to have received substantial sums of cash and physical assets like real estate from suppliers. Despite the serious accusations, none of the accused individuals have been publicly named.
The letter, also circulating on Chinese social media platforms, alleges that high-ranking Adidas officials, including a senior manager responsible for the marketing budget in China, were implicated in the bribery scheme. While the authors of the letter did not provide concrete evidence to substantiate their claims, Adidas has deemed the allegations concerning enough to warrant a comprehensive investigation into potentially sensitive and confidential internal matters.
The investigation underscores Adidas’s commitment to ethical business practices and transparency amid serious allegations that could impact its reputation in one of its key markets.