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A senior manager and two former employees of WPP’s GroupM media buying operation have been detained by investigators in Shanghai, as part of ongoing efforts by the Chinese government to crack down on alleged corruption within foreign companies.
According to a police statement, the detained individuals “took advantage of their positions to accept substantial bribes” between 2019 and February this year while employed at the company.
Campaign US has identified the three individuals as the former head of GroupM China’s Data Centre, the chief investment officer for China, and the former general manager for GroupM China. The charges reportedly relate to media broking activities, involving the purchase of media at one price and selling it at another. It remains unclear whether these alleged actions were conducted for personal gain or on behalf of the company.
Greater China represents approximately 5% of WPP’s revenues, and this incident comes at a critical time as WPP is set to report its Q3 results.
In response to the situation, WPP issued the following statement:
“Following the recent detention of a GroupM China executive on bribery charges, we are fully cooperating with the authorities and have initiated our own investigation with an independent third party. While we cannot comment on the specifics of an ongoing police investigation, we have terminated the executive’s employment and GroupM is suspending business with any external entities involved in the police inquiries. We remain firmly committed to adhering to the law and our code of conduct and will take all necessary measures to ensure compliance within our business.”