Justice Department investigating whether Wall Street Journal reporters bribed officials in China



The Justice Department is investigating claims that Wall Street Journal reporters bribed Chinese officials with lavish gifts and trips in exchange for information.



The probe of the newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, is the result of a complaint from an anonymous whistle blower.

Down Jones, the Wall Street Journal's parent company, said it conducted an internal investigation and found no evidence of wrongdoing.



Scrutiny: The Justice Department investigated claims that the reporters for the Wall Street Journal paid bribes to Chinese officials

The newspaper itself revealed the investigation in an an article published on Saturday.

According to the article, some company executives believe that the tipster could actually be a Chinese government source who filed a false complaint to retaliate against the newspaper for its tough coverage of Chinese politics and society.

The Justice Department was already investigating News Corp for potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans any company with large business interests in the U.S. from paying bribes to officials outside the country.

News Corp was already in negotiations with the Justice Department over allegations journalists some of its British newspapers - notably those at the News of the World - bribed police officers and others.

The accusations, along with claims of phone hacking, led to the closure of the News of the World, Britain's largest newspaper, and an industry shakeup that rocked the British journalism world.



The allegations against the Wall Street Journal center on the newspapers investigation of Bo Xilai - a former rising star in the Chinese communist party before his British business partner Neil Heywood in 2011.

Bo's wife was charged with the murder and the ensuring international media coverage - along with other public embarrassments - led to Bo's dismissal from several key political posts.



The newspaper denies any wrongdoing and said it hired and outside legal firm to investigate the charges, as per the protocol for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.



'After a thorough review of our operations in China conducted by outside lawyers and auditors, we have not found any evidence of impropriety at Dow Jones,' Paula Keve, a spokeswoman for News Corp's Dow Jones unit, said.



