German-based car company Daimler and three of its subsidiaries have been accused of paying bribes to a large number of foreign governments.
The US Justice Department has accused Daimler, which makes Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks, of paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to officials of at least 22 governments from 1998 to 2008, the BBC reports.
One accusation is that Daimler paid kickbacks to Iraqi government officials to secure deals to sell vehicles, violating the United Nations' oil for food programme.
Another is that Daimler gave an official in Turkmenistan an armoured car as a birthday present to encourage him to grant a contract to supply government vehicles.
American law prohibits companies which operate in the US from making improper payments to officials of other countries.
