Adidas has launched an investigation into allegations of large-scale bribery in China after the company received a whistleblower complaint that accused senior staff of embezzling "millions of euros," the Financial Times reported yesterday.

The anonymous letter, which claims to have been written by "employees of Adidas China," names several Chinese Adidas employees including a senior manager involved with the marketing budget in the country, which the document said stood at EUR250 million (HK$2.09 billion) a year, the FT reported.

Adidas confirmed that it had received an anonymous letter on June 7 indicating potential compliance violations in China. The German sportswear company said it was investigating this matter together with external legal counsel.

"Adidas takes allegations of possible compliance violations very seriously and is clearly committed to complying with legal and internal regulations and ethical standards in all markets where we operate," it said in a statement in response to a Reuters query.

According to the FT, the letter alleges that Adidas staff received kickbacks from external service providers who were commissioned by the company that include "millions in cash from suppliers, and physical items such as real estate."

China sales of the German sportswear giant grew by 8 percent in the first quarter, the company reported earlier.