P&G reps say that the company always “complies with the spirit of the law everywhere we do business” but has yet to provide comment or confirm the nature of the investigation.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, the ‘review’ is in the early stages and involves allegations as to whether P&G used its’ Geneva based units to avoid paying taxes in Italy.
The publication reported that the review began back in April but the sum of money allegedly ‘underpaid’ has yet to be revealed.
Challenges
In 2015, Ohio-based P&G posted its fiscal first quarter results which did not make for great reading, with a big drop in net sales, and Beauty and Grooming were among the biggest culprits.
This was mainly down to weaker demand for its products, as competitors also steal market share, and despite an ongoing $10bn cost cutting programme , there have been numerous calls for structural changes, with splitting the company up being one of them.
The demands even brought back CEO Alan G. Lafley out of semi-retirement in 2013, tasked with giving the company a new direction, but even he conceded at the time that it had been a tough year for the company.