Microsoft spends millions on bribes
Yasser Elabd signs a report published last week in Lioness in which he accuses Microsoft of firing him after he alerted the company's leadership to the existence of corrupt activities committed over several years, particularly in the Middle East and Africa regions.
Elabd claims that between 1998 and 2018, he worked in the management of a Microsoft corporate investment fund and was sacked after reporting these scams internally.
"The client-side decision-maker sends an email to Microsoft requesting a reduction, which is granted, but the end consumer still pays the full price."
The discount is subsequently dispersed to all stakeholders, including Microsoft staff involved in the plan, the partner, and the buyer-side decision-maker, who is frequently a government official.
According to the former manager, he consulted various independent audits, which revealed that the practice had been going on for years.
Among the suspicious transactions, Elabd mentions a US$13.6 million discount given to the Saudi Ministry of Interior that was never applied to the agency, a complaint by a Nigerian government official who discovered that the country paid the US$5.5 million for licenses for the hardware it didn't own.
And the Qatar Ministry of Education paid $9.5 million for Office and Windows licenses it didn't use, despite an audit finding that the agency didn't even have access to computers.
Elabd alleges that he presented documentation of these tactics to US authorities, but that the Department of Justice refused to pursue the case and that the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) announced that it would discontinue the investigation due to a lack of resources.
Microsoft vice president Becky Lenaburg minimized the allegation, saying, "We think that we have already reviewed these issues, many of which are several years old, and we have already resolved them." We work with government agencies to address any issues that arise."
Keynote about Windows 11
Microsoft has scheduled a Tuesday event called "Windows Powers: The Future of Hybrid Work," at which Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Windows head Panos Panay, among others, will showcase new functionalities. There is no specific content plan in place, but the Windows Latest website anticipates the introduction of various new capabilities for both commercial and private clients.
For example, an official announcement of Windows 11 22H2 may be made, in which the release schedule or rough features could be stated. The new software One Outlook, which Microsoft intends to use to shift prior Outlook capabilities to the browser, would also fit the presentation's concept of hybrid working.
