Railways might ban Oracle if bribe charge is proved

Indian Railways may consider blacklisting Oracle Corp. if an internal inquiry into allegations that the database software maker’s Indian arm paid bribes to railway officials in 2019 is established, two officials privy to the development said. Once all details come in, and the railway inquiry pinpoints specific individuals and involvement of any of its entities in the bribery scandal, charges would be framed against its officials, and Oracle India may face a ban from participating in railway contracts and, resultantly, also get blacklisted from participation in other government contracts in India for a specific period. The SEC order said that Oracle allegedly created slush funds to bribe foreign officials in the United Arab Emirates, India, and Turkey. The order said Oracle sales employees in India kept a buffer of $67,000 to potentially make payments to a specific Indian official in 2019 to bag a railway contract.