J&J agrees to US$70m fraud settlement
Source: Agencies |
April 10, 2011, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HEALTH care giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay US$70 million to settle civil and criminal charges of bribing doctors in Europe and paying kickbacks to the Iraqi government to illegally obtain business.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that the company settled the charges with the agency and the Justice Department without admitting or denying guilt.
The government accused J&J subsidiaries of providing money and travel gifts to doctors in Greece, Poland and Romania in exchange for their prescribing J&J products to patients.
The SEC says J&J agents used fake contracts and sham companies to deliver the bribes that began at least 13 years ago.
J&J subsidiaries also allegedly paid kickbacks to the Iraqi government to obtain contracts under the United Nations Oil for Food Program.
The company will pay US$21.4 million in criminal penalties for improper payments and return US$48.6 million in illegal profits, according to the government.
"We are committed to holding corporations accountable for bribing foreign officials while, at the same time, giving meaningful credit to companies that self-report and cooperate with our investigations," said Mythili Raman, a deputy assistant attorney with the Department of Justice.
In a separate announcement, United Kingdom regulators said they reached a US$7.9 million settlement with J&J over illegal payments made to orthopedic doctors in Greece.
The UK's Serious Fraud Office said it launched its investigation in 2007 after receiving information about the payments from US authorities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that the company settled the charges with the agency and the Justice Department without admitting or denying guilt.
The government accused J&J subsidiaries of providing money and travel gifts to doctors in Greece, Poland and Romania in exchange for their prescribing J&J products to patients.
The SEC says J&J agents used fake contracts and sham companies to deliver the bribes that began at least 13 years ago.
J&J subsidiaries also allegedly paid kickbacks to the Iraqi government to obtain contracts under the United Nations Oil for Food Program.
The company will pay US$21.4 million in criminal penalties for improper payments and return US$48.6 million in illegal profits, according to the government.
"We are committed to holding corporations accountable for bribing foreign officials while, at the same time, giving meaningful credit to companies that self-report and cooperate with our investigations," said Mythili Raman, a deputy assistant attorney with the Department of Justice.
In a separate announcement, United Kingdom regulators said they reached a US$7.9 million settlement with J&J over illegal payments made to orthopedic doctors in Greece.
The UK's Serious Fraud Office said it launched its investigation in 2007 after receiving information about the payments from US authorities.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
