GSK may face US charges over graft
Lawyers say the British drug maker could pay record fine if prosecuted for alleged kickbacks to doctors and hospitals on the mainland
New York-listed GlaxoSmithKline may pay a record amount in the United States to settle China-related corruption allegations, if it is charged under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), given the extent of its alleged malpractices.
"There is a high likelihood that GSK will be prosecuted by the US authorities," said Daniel Roules, a Shanghai-based partner of US law firm Squire Sanders.
GSK could be charged under FCPA law because of its New York listing.
It could also be charged under the UK Bribery Act because it is a British company.
"If all the allegations by the Chinese authorities are true, and the US government decides GSK's compliance programme in China was a sham and never seriously enforced, GSK's settlement for violating the FCPA could potentially exceed all previous FCPA settlements centred exclusively on China," said Jerry Ling, a Shanghai-based partner at Jones Day, another US law firm.
"The allegations point to extensive involvement by and consent of the China-based management, and identify bribery schemes that are systemic and egregious."
Beijing alleges GSK funnelled nearly 3 billion yuan (HK$3.8 billion) in kickbacks to doctors, hospitals and other groups to prescribe its drugs. At least four senior Chinese GSK executives and 18 other employees of the company have been detained on the mainland.
