China fines British drug maker GSK US$492 million over bribery scandal
PUBLISHED : Friday, 19 September, 2014, 4:51pm
UPDATED : Friday, 19 September, 2014, 6:29pm
Associated Press in Beijing
A flag bearing the logo of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) flutters next to a Chinese national flag outside a GlaxoSmithKline office building in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters
A Chinese court has fined British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline US$492 million and sentenced its British former country manager and others to prison for bribing doctors and hospitals to use its products.
The Xinhua News Agency said the former country manager, Mark Reilly, and others were sentenced to two to four years in the case, which highlighted widespread payments to Chinese doctors by sellers of drugs and medical equipment.
GSK, Britain’s biggest drug maker, will pay the fine with cash on hand and will take charge against third-quarter earnings, according to a Bloomberg report.
In a twist to the saga, last month, China jailed GSK investigator Peter Humphrey to two and a half years in jail for illegally obtaining private information on Chinese citizens and was fined 200,000 yuan (HK$252,00) in relation to an investigation he conducted within the company.
Humphrey will also be deported after he serves out his sentence. His wife Yu Yingzeng was sentenced to two years in prison.
Shortly before their detention, GSK had asked the couple to investigate the origin of a sex tape that showed GSK China head Mark Reilly and his girlfriend.
Along with the tape came allegations that GSK bribed Chinese doctors. The same allegations were shared with Chinese authorities in anonymous e-mails.
Chinese authorities have not officially connected the trial to the graft probe, but Humphrey has linked the investigation with his own arrest.
Following an international investigation into the bribery accusations, GSK said it had found evidence of wrongdoing.
Reilly has since been dismissed from his position and is assisting the Chinese investigation into the bribery of doctors. He is in China and barred from leaving the country.
Additional reporting by staff reporters
