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DJI says employee fraud will cost it up to $150 million

DJI says employee fraud will cost it up to $150 million

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29 employees are reported to have been fired

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Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

The drone manufacturer DJI has discovered millions of dollars worth of fraud committed by its employees, the company has announced (via Bloomberg). The company has said it expects the losses from the fraud to amount to around 1 billion yuan (around $150 million USD) and that “a number” of its employees have been fired over the discovery. The Financial Times reports that this number could be as high as 29 employees.

In a statement sent to Engadget, the company said that some of its 14,000 employees had been inflating the cost of parts and materials for financial gain. In response, along with dismissing a number of employees, DJI said that it has alerted law enforcement, and has also set up new internal channels for whistleblowers to report fraud.

The Shenzhen-based company is currently the biggest drone manufacturer in the world, with control of around 75 percent of the market. As well as consumer models like the Mavic 2 and Mavic Air, the company is increasingly investing in drones for enterprise use such as a special $1,999 version of the Mavic 2 designed for search and rescue.