VGP – Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien on November 6 sent a letter to U.S. Ha Noi Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Claire Pierangelo to ask for collaboration from the US side in clarifying the information relating to an alleged bribery case worth millions of US dollars in the health sector.
In the letter, the Minister also spoke of strict punishment for individuals and organizations if they are found to infringe law.
According to the article “US firm admits to bribery of VN government officials” released on the Voice of Viet Nam (VOV), Bio-Rad, which makes medical diagnostic products, agreed on November 3 to pay about US$55 million to settle US authorities’ allegations that it failed to prevent bribery of officials in Russia, Thailand and Viet Nam and falsified records to hide the payments.
Bio-Rad admitted in the settlement that it made bribes of at least US$2.2 million to Viet Nam’s government officials and cooked the books to mask them as legitimate expenses such as commissions, advertising and training fees.
A sales representative of Bio-Rad authorized payment of the bribes, including the hiring of a middleman to pay the bribes, according to the settlement agreement.
By Thuy Dung
Đăng ký: VietNam News