GlaxoSmithKline to investigate fresh bribery claims in Syria
GlaxoSmithKline is facing new bribery allegations in Syria, the latest in a string of accusations flung at the drugmaker from countries across the world.
The FTSE 100-quoted company is accused of bribing Syrian doctors and officials to boost sales of its medicines, by offering cash, trips and free medical samples.
The latest claims emerged after Reuters published details of an internal email sent by an anonymous whistleblower on 6 August.
“All the claims in this email will be thoroughly investigated using internal and external resources as part of our ongoing investigation into operations in Syria,” said a GSK spokesperson.
“We are committed to taking any disciplinary actions resulting from the findings. We have suspended our relationship with our distributors in the country pending the outcome of our investigation.”
The email reportedly cited names and dates of the alleged bribes, and said information about the alleged corruption would be passed on to the US authorities.
GSK had already been accused of bribery regarding its consumer business in Syria, which it suspended two years ago due to the worsening civil war there. Its remaining pharmaceutical business in Syria makes around £6m in revenue.
The scandal is the latest blow to GSK, which is still battling bribery charges in China, one of the key markets into which chief executive Andrew Whitty is hoping to expand.
The company is accused of paying hundreds of millions of pounds to doctors and officials in the country.
The case took an unexpected turn when it emerged in June that a covert sex tape had been filmed of GSK’s former country head Mark Reilly with his girlfriend and sent to the group’s chief executive, Andrew Witty, with an email outlining bribery allegations.
A number of GSK executives were arrested and a British investigator and his wife hired by GSK to find out who planted the camera have been sentenced to jail in China.
The firm has also faced bribery claims in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Poland. Shares closed flat at 1,377.5p.