Department of Justice Throws (at Least a Small Paperback) Book at Bio-Rad Laboratories - $55 Million Settlement, Admission of Wrongdoing, Employees Fired

Hard on the heels of our recent roundup of legal cases involving medical device companies comes a notable settlement by Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc, a company that makes equipment and supplies for clinical diagnostic testing. The Basics As reported by Reuters,Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc will pay $55 million to end U.S. investigations into whether it failed to prevent bribery of government officials in Russia and other countries, and falsified records to conceal payments, U.S. authorities said on Monday.The company, which makes medical diagnostics products, entered a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by recording fake payments in connection with sales in Russia.It also entered a civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which said units of the Hercules, California-based company made $7.5 million in improper payments to officials in Russia, Vietnam and Thailand to win business.Some Sordid Details   Some details of the unseemly conduct were reported by the San Jose, California, Mercury News,The Department of Justice and the SEC said Bio-Rad subsidiaries in Europe and Asia bribed government officials from 2005-10 with payments to phony middleman companies. Bio-Rad executives ignored the payments, which were so obvious that they should have spotted them, the federal investigators said. One Russian middleman company even used a phony address that was ac...
Source: Health Care Renewal - Category: Health Management Tags: Bio-Rad Laboratories bribery crime deferred prosecution agreement diagnostic tests legal settlements medical devices US Department of Justice Source Type: blogs