Belgium-based brewing company Anheuser-Busch InBev announced last week that the Department of Justice has joined an investigation launched by the Securities and Exchange Commission into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by its India affiliates.

In March, Anheuser-Busch InBev said in an SEC filing that the agency was conducting an investigation into its affiliates in India, including its non-consolidated Indian joint venture, InBev India Int'l Private Ltd, to determine whether “certain relationships of agents and employees were compliant with the FCPA.”

“We continue to cooperate in this investigation and have been informed by the Department of Justice that it is also conducting a similar investigation,” the company said in a July 31 earnings statement.

Similar Probes

Anheuser-Busch InBev is only the latest among a string of alcoholic beverages companies to face a government probe into potential violations of the FCPA in India.

In October, bourbon maker Beam said that it was performing an investigation into whether its business in India was in compliance with company policies and the FCPA. “We commenced the investigation as a result of information obtained through our internal compliance procedures and an internal audit of the India business,” Beam stated in its Form 10-Q issued in May. The company said it had voluntarily notified the Justice Department and SEC of the investigation and are providing them updates on the investigations progress.

“Our investigation is continuing, and we are presently unable to predict the duration, scope, result or related costs of the internal investigation or of any potential investigations,” the company stated. “At this time, we also cannot reasonably estimate the potential amount or range of loss that may result.”

In July 2011, London-based alcoholic beverages company Diageo agreed to pay more than $16 million to the SEC to resolve allegations that Diageo's subsidiaries paid over $2.7 million from 2003 through mid-2009 to various government officials in India, Thailand, and South Korea in separate efforts to obtain lucrative sales and tax benefits in violation of the FCPA.