Woolworths is convinced the payment of secret commissions to a food buyer is an isolated event and has dismissed concerns that a culture of kickbacks exists in its supermarkets division.
But according to The Australian Financial Review, Victoria's Crime Department is investigating a series of secret commissions involving a national retail chain, although it did not name Woolworths.
The buyer is the fourth to be sacked by Woolworths in the last fiver months for breaching company policy. Last October, Woolworths dismissed three buyers from fresh produce following breaches of its internal code of conduct.
However, a Woolworths spokeswoman said the two situations were completely different.
"It would be very disappointing if there was any inference there is in any way some systemic problem because there isn't," the spokeswoman said.
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