India, Oct. 31 -- US retail giant Walmart has launched an investigation into allegations that employees at its subsidiary Flipkart received over Rs.150 Cr ($16 Mn) in kickbacks from vendors.

The probe follows whistleblower complaints involving employees in Flipkart's smartphones and luggage and travel accessories (LTA) divisions, Moneycontrol reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Employees allegedly accepted payments and favours from vendors in exchange for preferential treatment on the ecommerce platform, including greater visibility that helped drive sales.

According to the report, some employees allegedly used Flipkart's B2B operations to facilitate these arrangements. In the smartphones category, employees allegedly too...