Bayer Will Hire Firm to Probe Possible Spying by Monsanto (3)

Bayer AG said it will appoint an external law firm to investigate a Monsanto project that French media said was designed to suppress criticism and lobby for approval of pesticides, including the controversial Roundup weedkiller.

It’s “very probable” that Monsanto engaged in similar behavior in other European countries, Matthias Berninger, Bayer’s head of public affairs and sustainability, said on a call with reporters Monday. Monsanto in 2016 kept secret scores on more than 200 politicians, journalists and agricultural leaders, Le Monde reported. A Paris prosecutor on Friday opened a preliminary inquiry into the file, whose existence was first reported by ...