Senior GlaxoSmithKline execs investigated for bribery and tax violations following revelations that Chinese government officials were offered cash to prescribe botox

Police said 'high officials' of company admitted allegations under questioning

Workers were said to have given free travel as 'large bribes' to doctors

Comes after after investigation in Shanghai, Changsha, Zhengzhou

Britain's biggest drug firm was at the centre of a major corruption investigation in China yesterday amid allegations hospitals and doctors were given cash and free travel to boost sales and prices.

Executives of GlaxoSmithKline in China have confessed to charges of bribery and tax law violations, the country’s security ministry said. Bribes are also alleged to have been offered to Chinese government officials and medical associations.

An unnamed British executive is said to be among those being questioned as part of the wide ranging inquiry.



Executives at pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline in China have confessed to charges of bribery and tax law violations

‘The case involves many people, the duration of time is long, the amount of money involved is huge and the criminal activities are malicious,’ the Chinese ministry of public security said.



Officials said the investigation was being conducted by police in three of the country’s biggest cities – Changsha, Shanghai and Zhengzhou – but did not give details on the number of executives questioned, their identities or when the questioning took place.

Employees are accused of paying ‘large bribes’ laundered through travel agencies to doctors, hospitals and others ‘to open new sales channels and increase drug revenues,’ the ministry added.

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed it was providing consular assistance to a Briton, adding: ‘We are in contact with GlaxoSmithKline and we are in the process of seeking further information from the Chinese authorities.’

Among the treatments said to be under investigation in China is the prescribing of Botox, which the drug maker sells in the country under an agreement with the patent-holder, Allergan. The company is responsible for therapeutic sales of Botox in China – to treat facial spasms – rather than its use as a cosmetic treatment to remove wrinkles.

The British pharmaceuticals giant is also suspected of using fake receipts in breach of Chinese tax laws, according to the ministry.

Employees are accused of paying 'large bribes' laundered through travel agencies to doctors, hospitals and others 'to open new sales channels and increase drug revenues,' according to china's police ministry

GlaxoSmithKline, which employs 5,000 people in China, insisted it had found no evidence of bribery or corruption there. ‘We are willing to co-operate with the authorities in this inquiry,’ the company said in a statement, adding that it had only just received official word of the ‘specific nature’ of the investigation.

‘We take all allegations of bribery and corruption seriously,’ the statement said.

‘We continuously monitor our businesses to ensure they meet our strict compliance procedures – we have done this in China and found no evidence of bribery or corruption of doctors or government officials. However, if evidence of such activity is provided, we will act swiftly on it.’

Police in the central city of Changsha announced two weeks ago that company employees had been detained for questioning about unspecified ‘economic crimes’.

GlaxoSmithKline said in June that it had investigated an accusation that its salespeople in China bribed doctors and found no evidence of wrongdoing. The company has said the police investigation might be based on information from the same anonymous source.

GlaxoSmithKline is headquartered in Britain but has a presence in the United States, which could make it liable to penalties under US anti-bribery laws.

This is not the first time that its executives have been linked to accusations of bribery.