$282 million: What Walmart pays to end long-running bribe probes

Walmart Inc. agreed to pay $282 million in penalties and a Brazilian unit admitted to violating a US anti-bribery law, providing a relatively subdued ending to a seven-year investigation that spanned the globe and at one point looked poised to yield record foreign-corruption fines.

In parallel announcements on Thursday, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission faulted the country’s largest retailer over payments made to fast-track store openings in Mexico, China, Brazil and India. Walmart will pay about $138 million in criminal penalties and $144 million in disgorgement to resolve the SEC’s allegations.

WMT Brasilia pleaded guilty Thursday to failing to keep accurate records, while the US parent reached a non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.