Swiss Pharma Giant Novartis To Pay $112Mln To Settle Bribery Charges - US Regulator

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2020) The Switzerland-based international pharmaceuticals giant Novartis Corporation will pay $112 million to settle charges of violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a press release on Thursday.

"The SEC today announced that Novartis AG, a global pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, has agreed to pay over $112 million to settle charges that it violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the FCPA," the release said.

The US alleged that the Swiss company and its affiliates engaged in schemes to make improper payments to healthcare providers in South Korea, Vietnam and Greece in exchange for prescribing Novartis products.

The SEC also concluded that Novartis lacked sufficient internal accounting controls within its former Alcon business in China from 2013 to 2015, which used forged contracts as part of local financing arrangements that generated large losses and resulted in Novartis and Alcon writing off more than $50 million in bad debt, the release said.