Avon fires 4 executives in China

Avon Products Inc (AVP), the world's largest door-to-door cosmetics merchant, is probing possible corruption after firing four executives over bribes to officials in China, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing Avon's regulatory filing.

Related readings:  Chinese names of cosmetic ingredients standardized  Premier calls for stronger fight against corruption   Males turn to cosmetic appearance

The executives included the general manager and finance chief of the company's China unit, which generates two percent of Avon's revenue. Other employees could be affected according to the May 3 filing, the report said.

The company suspended the four in April 2010 as part of an internal investigation into its compliance with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

As part of the internal probe, Avon discovered millions of dollars in questionable payments to officials in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India and Japan, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing an unidentified person.

The fired executives are S.K. Kao, the former general manager; Jimmy Beh, the China chief financial officer; C.Q. Sun, the former head of corporate affairs for China; and Ian Rossetter, the former head of global internal audit and security, the newspaper reported.