Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. and other companies that participated in the oil-for-food program in
Fellow pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Astra Zeneca, both of which are headquartered in
The program was intended to allow
A United Nations report delivered two years ago by former U.S. Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Paul Volcker said the kickbacks often were concealed by supplier companies’ charging 10 percent extra to cover services after sales.
Volcker urged an investigation be undertaken. The British probe is the first official investigation to follow the U.N. report. Its investigators can summon witnesses and demand that companies turn over documents.
Volcker’s report accused Lilly of offering a $343,000 bribe to land a $3.2 million contract.
But the newspaper said Lilly reiterated its response that followed the report: “Eli Lilly and Company … denies any wrongdoing with regard to the oil-for-food scheme. As the report highlights, we deny that payments were made to the government of
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