An independent investigation has found that a Monsanto Co. program to track influential people in Europe, including politicians and journalists, was not illegal.
In May, French prosecutors opened an inquiry following media reports that Monsanto's public relations agency FleishmanHillard allegedly carried out illegal surveillance activities on hundreds of scientists, politicians and journalists in an effort to renew the EU approval of glyphosate — the main ingredient in Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup. The list was created to allegedly sway public opinion on Monsanto's pesticides.
Germany's Bayer AG, which bought Monsanto for $62.5 billion last year, asked third-party law firm Sidley Austin LLP to conduct an investigation into the so-called stakeholder list. The investigation found that Monsanto did not track any information that would be considered sensitive in nature. The international law firm also did not find evidence to support the French media's allegations regarding the illegality of the stakeholder lists.
Roundup, which Bayer inherited following the acquisition of Monsanto, has been mired in controversy. Bayer is facing thousands of lawsuits that accuse Roundup of causing cancer.
