London, Dec 30, IRNA,Two international pharmaceutical companies have been asked to hand over documents to Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as part of its investigation into bribes allegedly paid to Saddam Hussein’s deposed Iraqi regime, it was reported Sunday.
The SFO is investigating Anglo-American Glaxo Smith Kline and Anglo-Swedish Astra Zeneca for possible breaches of the oil-for-food sanctions following a damning UN report which listed more than 2,200 companies worldwide that may have been linked to bribery or “kick backs” to Iraq.
Britain’s PA News said the investigation, which is expected to cost around Pnds 22 million, could take years and has been predicted to become one of the biggest undertaken by the SFO.
Both Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) and Astra Zeneca confirmed that they were co-operating with inquiries by have denied any wrongdoing during the sanctions regime, which allowed the Iraqi government to sell limited amounts of oil to buy foreign food and medicines.
“GSK does not believe that its employees or its agents in Iraq knowingly engaged in wrongdoing regarding the oil-for-food programme,” a spokesman for Glaxo Smith Kline was quoted saying.
The spokesman said the firm “went to considerable lengths to co-operate with UK government authorities responsible for the UK administration of the programme and to impose anti-corruption measures when dealing with intermediaries in Iraq at a time when the environment was extremely volatile and difficult.”
“Astra Zeneca has received a request from the Serious Fraud Office for documents as part of its review of the oil for food programme in Iraq. The company will be providing the documentation,” a spokesperson for the Anglo-Swedish drugs firm also said.