Private hire company Uber may be involved in an investigation on car purchases made by its car rental company Lion City Rental (LCR), The Business Times reported.
Uber has been hit by a series of scandals lately, with their founding CEO, Travis Kalanick, admitting that he needs leadership help. Last month, former CEO of Expedia, Dara Khosrowshahi took the top job to reform their internal processes.
According to Business Times, there has been talks in the parallel import industry about the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) calling up former and/or current Uber staff over LCR’s car purchases.
When contacted, a CPIB spokesman replied: “Due to the nature of our work, we will not confirm or deny whether any individual or entity is being investigated for corrupt practices or any criminal activities.”
An Uber spokesman said: “We do not comment on rumours or market speculation.”
This comes after Dara Khosrowshahi took over as Uber’s Chief Executive Officer in August, with a promise to improve the company’s corporate culture. He succeeded Travis Kalanick, who resigned amidst a series of workplace scandals in June.
The company is also facing a United States federal probe into whether it has broken laws on overseas bribery. The investigation is focused on suspicious activity in at least five Asian countries: China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea.
Last month, it was reported that Uber was reviewing its Asia operations. The company notified US officials about payments made by staff in Indonesia, after an employee was said to have made payments to continue operating in an area not zoned for businesses.
Two weeks ago (Sept 22), the ride hailing app was also stripped of its operating license in London. Khosrowshahi will be meeting London transport authority Transport for London commissioner Mike Brown to try to resolve the situation.