The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating a handful of healthcare companies over potentially using intermediaries to set up bribes with Chinese government and hospital officials to sell medical equipment, according to reporting by Reuters.
Siemens AG, Philips NV and General Electric are among the companies being looked into. The information was told to Reuters by two U.S. sources with knowledge of the situation.
All three vendors denied using “local middlemen” in the alleged corruption of sales of medical equipment and claimed they had no knowledge of any investigation. The SEC also declined to provide Reuters with comment.
The news outlet also found similar details from this investigation in a shareholder lawsuit against current and former members of GE’s board in New York State court.
That lawsuit, filed in December 2018, alleges that “since at least 2011 GE employees in China or workers at its subsidiaries ‘have bribed hospital administrators, engaged in collusive bidding, and given kickbacks to government officials,” Reuters reported.
Read the entire Reuter’s report below.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.