Cisco Deflects Blame in Brazilian Tax Fraud Case Toward Channel, Employees Released
Cisco Systems Sunday said three of four employees detained by Brazilian authorities last week in connection with an alleged tax evasion scheme have been released. The release of the Cisco employees comes a few days after the San Jose, Calif.-based networking company maintained its innocence, seemingly pointing a finger at the channel for whatever wrongdoing, if any, might be uncovered in the probe. In a statement Sunday, Cisco said three employees have been released. The company maintains that no formal charges have yet been brought against its employees and that it is doing all it can to support them. Pedro Ripper, president of Cisco Brazil, was among the released employees. Ripper is expected to return to his role as country manager of Cisco Brazil, according to the statement. Cisco said it is cooperating with authorities in their investigation and conducting an internal review “to understand these troubling allegations.” The release of the Cisco employees comes a few days after Cisco Thursday confirmed that four employees had been detained as Brazilian authorities carried out 44 warrants as part of their inquiry. At that time, Cisco defended itself, noting that it only imports products into Brazil via the channel. “In the review of the facts that we’ve been able to undertake, we do not believe Cisco has acted inappropriately. Key to our evaluation, we would note that Cisco does not import products directly into Brazil, but relies on resellers,” the company said in a statement. Image source: exhibitoronline.com
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