Vietnam's Finance Ministry is investigating an allegation that Tenma Corp., a Tokyo-based manufacturer of plastic products, bribed Vietnamese tax investigators, according to local media reports.

The Vietnamese subsidiary of the company, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's First Section, gave cash worth roughly 25 million yen ($232,000) to investigators between 2017 and 2019 to avoid paying large sums of additional taxes and fines, according to a report compiled earlier by a Tenma-commissioned panel that looked into the case.

The ministry has formed an investigative team to look into the allegation, local media said Monday.

In 2017, Tenma Vietnam Co. gave about 10 million yen worth of cash to a lead investigator in the name of "coordination money" after it was told by local customs authorities that it would need to pay about 1.79 billion yen in additional taxes and a fine, according to the company report.

After the payment, the authorities dropped the matter, the report said.

In 2019, the subsidiary gave about 15 million yen worth of cash to a lead tax investigator after taxation authorities suggested it needed to pay additional corporate income tax and a fine, the report said.

The subsidiary subsequently had the amount of the tax and fine it had to pay reduced substantially, according to the report.

Tenma has volunteered relevant information to Tokyo prosecutors as such payments could constitute a violation of a Japanese law banning bribery of foreign officials.

==Kyodo

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