• An internal investigation discovered that company employees were deliberately inflating material & part costs of certain DJI products for their own financial gain.
   
• The incident has raised numerous questions regarding the world’s largest consumer drone producer’s financial management practices.

SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (DJI), a renowned Chinese manufacturer of consumer drones, has reportedly announced that an internal investigation has discovered extensive cases of corruption that could cost the company over $150 million in losses.

Reports cite, the investigation unearthed extensive cases of fraud where the company’s employees were deliberately inflating the costs of materials & parts of certain DJI products for their own financial gain.

According to a report by Channel NewsAsia, the employees received sizable kickbacks from company suppliers that typically charged the company double or triple the amount of the original cost of parts they sold to the company. The corruption is estimated to involve over 100 individuals, with a majority of them expected to face jail sentences for their involvement in the crime.

Hailed as one of the largest consumer drone manufacturers in the world that sells over billions-of-dollars’ worth of drones on an annual basis, DJI, on the grounds of this incident, is likely to be the recipient of numerous questions regarding the company’s financial management practices.

DJI apparently released a statement, claiming that it has reported the case to the local law enforcement officials. DJI would be further strengthening its internal control and would also be establishing new communication channels for its employees to report any violations of its workplace conduct policies in a confidential & anonymous manner.

Early reports had estimated the number of DJI employees to be terminated at about 29 individuals with the scale of potential losses from the corruption reaching more than $150 million.

For the record, DJI, founded by Frank Wang in 2006 employs over 14,000 individuals. The company became the nation’s most successful home-grown tech firms by pioneering the global consumer drones market.

According to reports, further details related to the matter have not been unveiled yet as the incident is still under investigation.