Amazon accused of possibly lying to Congress
U.S. lawmakers have accused Amazon's top executives, including founder Jeff Bezos, of possibly lying to Congress.
On Monday, five members of the House Judiciary Committee wrote to Amazon boss Andy Jassy, accusing Amazon executives of possibly lying about the firm's business practices.
They are now considering whether to refer the company for criminal investigation.
The letter follows an investigation by Reuters which found that Amazon conducted a systematic campaign of copying products and rigging search results in India to boost sales of its own brands.
Amazon denies the allegations.
The letter states that "credible reporting" in the Reuters story "directly contradicts the sworn testimony and representations of Amazon's top executives – including former CEO Jeffrey Bezos."
"At best, this reporting confirms that Amazon's representatives misled the Committee," it states. "At worst, it demonstrates that they may have lied to Congress in possible violation of federal criminal law".
In response, an Amazon spokesperson issued a statement, saying the company did not mislead the committee and has sought to correct the record on, quote: "the inaccurate media articles in question."
Since 2019, the House Judiciary Committee has been investigating competition in digital markets.
Last year in sworn testimony before an antitrust subcommittee, Jeff Bezos said Amazon prohibits its employees from using data on individual sellers to benefit its own private-label product lines.
