Coca-Cola's US headquarters has confirmed that it is facing US government investigations for alleged rigged sales of products from its Irish bottling plants, writes Sean O'Driscoll from New York.
Both the US Attorney's office and the US Securities and Exchange Commission in Atlanta are investigating the company for allegedly arranging with a Japanese company to take large quantities of product from the Irish plants to falsely boost Coca-Cola's quarterly profits during the 1990s.
Both offices are investigating very senior officials in Coca-Cola's Atlanta headquarters.
Coca-Cola's US director of financial communication, Mr Ben Deutsch, told The Irish Times yesterday that there was an investigation, but that the allegations were "definitely without merit".
Investigators are seeking information on whether Coca-Cola had overstated profits for several years by shipping large quantities of beverage concentrate from Ireland to Japan and claiming it as legitimate sales.
The two Irish plants supply most of the product for Georgia Coffee, a popular line of Coca-Cola drinks in Japan.
A spokesman for Coca-Cola Ireland referred all queries to headquarters in Atlanta.
Coca-Cola concentrate is produced at two Irish plants, Ballina, Co Mayo, and Drogheda, Co Louth. Various Coca-Cola companies employ a total of 1,000 staff in the Republic.
The practice of artificially selling product, known as "channel stuffing", is alleged to have involved Takasago International, a large flavours and fragrances company that handles distribution for Coca-Cola in Japan.
Takasago, which yesterday denied any involvement in sales-fixing for Coca-Cola, has taken imported product from Ireland for many years, according to reports in yesterday's Wall Street Journal.
Investigators are seeking information from Mr Douglas Daft, Coca-Cola's chairman and chief executive, who worked on Japanese operations in the 1980s and 1990s.
Mr Deutsch said that there was "zero connection" between the investigation and the corporation's announcement two weeks ago that Mr Daft would be resigning at the end of the year after serving as chairman for five years.
One Coca-Cola official said that reports of the investigation in yesterday's Wall Street Journal were accurate, and said he believed that investigators may have spoken to a number of former employees who had worked at Coca-Cola's headquarters in Atlanta.
However, Coca-Cola could claim that it has legitimate reasons for building up inventory with its Japanese distribution company, such as shipping, customs or other delays.
The head of Atlanta's Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Richard Wessel, and a spokesperson for the US Attorney's office, Mr Patrick Crosby, both said yesterday that they could not comment on investigations that were continuing.