Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is starting the week off with some concerning news. According to a Wall Street Journal report, an Amazon investigation is underway over internal corruption allegations. Accusations include employees leaking controversial data in exchange for money and doctoring or deleting negative product reviews to peddle higher rankings for merchants.

The news comes only days after Amazon has been receiving kudos for its new charity.

Amazon Investigation

A company spokesperson stated that an Amazon investigation has been launched and according to the report, the practice is “particularly pronounced in China.”

Some employees are accused of using internal data to manipulate rankings and product reviews. Others have been described as selling confidential data to merchants in order to enhance these merchants’ selling potential.

The spokesperson for the Amazon investigation said:

“We hold our employees to a high ethical standard and anyone in violation of our code faces discipline, including termination and potential legal and criminal penalties.”

Data Leaking

Amazon has had trouble with product review manipulation for years. In 2015, for example, it sued over 1,000 people who were selling fake reviews of products and misleading customers.

Now, it is showcasing specific cases of brokers for Amazon employees in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, who received payments anywhere between $80 and $2,000 to divulge internal sales metrics and reviewer email addresses. According to the report, these brokers are purported to have deleted negative reviews and restored banned accounts.

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The spokesperson continued:

“[Amazon has] sophisticated systems to restrict and audit access to information. We have zero tolerance for abuse of our systems and if we find bad actors who have engaged in this behavior, we will take swift action against them, including terminating their selling accounts, deleting reviews, withholding funds, and taking legal action.”

The Amazon investigation is also extending to the United States, whereby the report has detailed accounts of data leaking there too.

Amazon Stock

Amazon stock closed in the red yesterday, down 0.99%. The company reached the $1 trillion benchmark back on September 4th but was not able to maintain the high. It has been steadily declining since.

Something tells me that today’s news won’t see the stock fare any better.

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