Britain opens an investigation with pharmaceutical company on charges of bribery in Iraq

Economy

2014-05-29T08:59:07+00:00

, which poses a challenge for the company that is facing charges of bribery in China and four other countries, including Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan .

The Office said that its manager opened an investigation into the business practices of GlaxoSmithKline and its subsidiaries .

Shares of the company , the largest manufacturer of drugs in the UK and the sixth largest pharmaceutical group in the world have decreased in terms of sales , by 1.5 percent in early trading on Wednesday .

The company said that " it is committed to the management of trade in accordance with the highest ethical standards and will continue to cooperate with the control Office."

The company did not disclose or control office for further details on the case.

The move by the Office of control comes after less than two weeks from the announcement by Chinese police on 14 of May for charging the former British Director for a branch of the company in China and others of corruption , after investigations based on the evidence , it was revealed the presence of a broad plan to pay bribes to doctors and hospitals.

The case is considered the biggest corruption scandal to a foreign company in China since the issue of Rio Tinto in 2009, which resulted in the imprisonment of four directors .

The decision of SOF has surprised Lawyers and analysts who have pointed out that the allegations against GlaxoSmithKline that might expose it to charges , according to the law of the United Kingdom for a bribe in 2010 .

But it is GlaxoSmithKline’s right to claim to reduce the sentence that has been able to prove that they have strict policies and circumvent procedures on the staff .