In the wake of reports this spring that Wal-Mart paid millionsof dollars in bribes to expand its operations in Mexico, otherretailers have notified U.S. authorities of possible violations ofthe anti-bribery law, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, in theirinternational operations, Reuters says. Now the Justice Departmentand the Securities and Exchange Commission are considering awide-ranging investigation of the retail industry.

The Securities and Exchange Commission usually handles suchindustry-wide investigations, although the Justice Departmentsometimes plays a role. Both the SEC and the Justice Departmentsent letters asking about FCPA violations in 2010, and morerecently the SEC sent queries to movie studios.