Bharti Walmart’s agents demand unpaid dues

Keeping current situation in mind, a group of independent

agents, who had helped Bharti-Walmart get various licences in India and whose services were stopped last December, have demanded that the company either pay their dues amounting to about Rs one crore or face legal action.

Over two dozen such consultants, including middlemen in government offices, legal firms and from various cities like Banaras, Ludhiana and Jaipur met Bharti Walmart officials in Gurgaon, seeking to resolve the matter. The joint venture between Walmart Stores and Bharti Enterprises had cut ties with these agents as a part of an ongoing internal investigation of the US retailer to check if its India unit has flouted the US anti-bribery laws.

These agents say, both the companies had promised to pay them within months, which has not happened even after waiting for over nine months. After meeting Bharti Walmart's senior director of anti-corruption Ritika Ratti and general counsel Susan Muigai, who have asked to submit the required documents, the agents have decided to submit them. And if even after submitting the said documents, the company fails to pay them, they have decided to take the matter to court.