By Joe Gerrard • Published: 26 May 2019 • 16:30
A GERMAN dialysis company has admitted to paying millions in bribes to secure business deals with doctors in Spain and across the world.
The US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) found corruption was visible in Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) from the early 2000’s but nothing was done to address it.
The SEC was tasked with probing the claims made about FMC. FMC said it had co-operated fully with the investigation.
The investigation found the company had bribed doctors in Spain, Turkey, China, Serbia, Bosnia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and in several West African countries.
“Employees made improper payments through a variety of schemes including through the use of false consulting contracts, the forgery of documents and channelling bribes through external intermediaries,” the SEC said.
“Senior management actively thwarted enforcement efforts. The improper conduct continued for years,” the regulator added.
The SEC’s probe found FMC paid for Spanish doctors to go to international medical conferences and on holidays, funded their projects and bought them gifts to secure deals. The company spent almost €2.7 million in Spain alone, the SEC found.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.