WASHINGTON — Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay $14.6 million to settle charges from U.S. regulators that its joint venture in China gave cash and other benefits to government health care providers in exchange for drug sales.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement of civil charges Monday with the company, one of the largest drugmakers in the world.
The SEC says sales personnel at the company’s joint venture plied staff at hospitals owned or controlled by the Chinese government with cash, jewelry, meals, travel and entertainment to secure and expand prescription drug business. The agency says the joint venture, of which Bristol-Myers Squibb is majority owner, inaccurately recorded the cash and gifts as legitimate business expenses in its books. The payments allegedly were made between 2009 and 2014.
Bristol-Myers Squibb failed to take action in response to red flags indicating the payment of bribes by sales staff in the joint venture, including notations in internal audits of the joint venture, the SEC alleged.
The New York drugmaker neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in the settlement of alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The law prohibits bribery of foreign government officials or company executives to secure or retain business.
The company is returning $11.4 million in profits plus $500,000 in interest and paying a $2.75 million civil penalty. It also agreed to report to the SEC for two years on its progress in improving compliance with the anti-bribery law.
“We have resolved this matter with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and are committed to the highest standards of business integrity, vigilance and ethics across our organization,” Bristol-Myers Squibb said in a statement.
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