Cab hailing major Uber’s latest review of its Asian operations could cause major distraction for the company’s Indian unit, reports Mint. And this is at a time when the parent itself is struggling amid exit of key executives and increasing competition across key markets.
The US Department of Justice launched a probe into the Asian operations of Uber to investigate if the company broke any laws in the US by bribing foreign officials, as per a Bloomberg report.
Uber has hired law firm O‘Melveny & Myers LLP, to look into suspicious activity in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea. The company has notified US authorities of the payments made by its staff to Indonesian police officers, the report states.
Uber is also investigating how former executive Eric Alexander got access to medical records of the rape victim in the Uber Driver rape case in Delhi back in 2014. It was earlier reported that Eric Alexander carried the reports with him for months and even shared it with other executives including former CEO Travis Kalanick to try and see if there was more to the case.
In fact, the victim of the rape case filed a lawsuit in a US court against Uber, Kalanick and Alexander for violating her for a second time by “unlawfully” obtaining and sharing her medical records, reports Business Standard.
Mint reports that the company is likely to probe into potential problematic business dealings that Alexander could have had while dealing with the rape case. Additionally, the investigation is also looking to see if other Indian executives of Uber were involved in dealing with the matter of the rape victim.
This is where problems may arise for its India operations. If any executives in India are found to be involved, it may cause a major dent to Uber in India. And the probe itself could be a major distraction for the company, especially at a time when it is locked in a fierce battle with Ola.
Uber in the past few weeks has majorly stepped up its marketing in India with television commercials as well.