Indian among six indicted in $100,000 Amazon bribery case in US

A former Amazon.com Inc. employee in India was charged by the U.S. with taking more than $100,000 in bribes to give select merchants an advantage over competitors selling goods ranging from electronics to dietary supplements.

The illegal arrangement with consultants based in New York, California and Georgia who advise sellers on the online marketplace started as early as 2017, and allowed them to reap $100 million worth of competitive benefits, according to an indictment announced Friday.

“This is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg,” said Jason Boyce, an Amazon merchant turned consultant who runs the firm Avenue7Media. “You can find people in online selling forums willing to put you in touch with someone who can get into Amazon’s system to help you sell more products or sabotage your competitors.”