US expands China bribery probe to Morgan Stanley

The US Justice Department is investigating Morgan Stanley (MS.NYSE) on whether the bank’s hiring practices in China violated US bribery laws, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. US authorities’ interest in the hiring practices of banks operating in China first came to light in August when media reports disclosed that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was looking at whether JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM.NYSE) Hong Kong office hired the children of powerful heads of state-owned companies in China with the express purpose of winning underwriting business and other contracts. Morgan Stanley declined to comment.