Smith & Nephew to pay $22.2M in US settlements (CBS News)
British orthopedics maker Smith & Nephew has agreed to pay $22.2 million to settle U.S. criminal and civil allegations that it bribed doctors employed by the Greek government for more than a decade to win business, U.S. authorities said Monday.
Smith & Nephew's agreements with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are the government's latest action stemming from its investigation into bribery by medical device companies of doctors employed by governments overseas.
In a similar case last April, health care giant Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $70 million to settle civil and criminal charges of bribing doctors in Europe and paying kickbacks to the Iraqi government to obtain business.
Under the new agreements, parent company Smith & Nephew PLC is paying $5.4 million in restitution and interest to settle the SEC's civil charges. Its U.S. subsidiary Smith & Nephew Inc., based in Memphis, is paying a $16.8 million criminal fine in an agreement with the Justice Department.
Smith & Nephew, which operates in 32 countries, won't be prosecuted by the Justice Department...
