Wal-Mart shares tumble in wake of Mexico scandal

Wal-Mart Stores shares were down 3.1 percent in early premarket trading today following an article in the New York Times this weekend alleging that the world's largest retailer stymied an internal probe into bribery at its Mexican affiliate, Wal-Mart de Mexico.

According to the New York Times article, in September 2005, a senior Wal-Mart lawyer was alerted by a former executive at Wal-Mart de Mexico of the use of bribery to speed up store openings in Mexico.

Wal-Mart then sent investigators to Mexico City and found a paper trail of hundreds of suspect payments totaling more than $24 million, but the company's leaders shut down the investigation, the Times reported.

Source: Reuters