Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, created a new position to monitor global compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as it investigates allegations of a bribery scandal in Mexico.

The officer will be based in the retailer's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company said today in a statement.

Wal-Mart is investigating allegations, raised by an April 21 New York Times story, that executives in Mexico paid more than $24 million in bribes to speed the retailer's expansion there. The company also is the subject of a U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation, a person familiar with the probe said yesterday.