FBI targets Johnson & Johnson, Siemens, GE, Philips in Brazil graft case - sources

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BUSINESS NEWS MAY 17, 2019 / 6:05 AM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO

Exclusive: FBI targets Johnson & Johnson, Siemens, GE, Philips in Brazil graft case - sources

Brad Brooks
8 MIN READ

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The U.S. FBI is investigating corporate giants Johnson & Johnson, Siemens AG, General Electric Co and Philips for allegedly paying kickbacks as part of a scheme involving medical equipment sales in Brazil, two Brazilian investigators have told Reuters.

Brazilian prosecutors suspect the companies channeled illegal payoffs to government officials to secure contracts with public health programs across the South American country over the past two decades.

Brazilian authorities say more than 20 companies may have been part of a “cartel” that paid bribes and charged the government inflated prices for medical gear such as magnetic resonance imaging machines and prosthetics.

The four multinational companies, with a combined market capitalization of nearly $600 billion at Thursday’s market close, are the largest foreign enterprises to be investigated in an unprecedented anti-corruption push in Brazil in recent years.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-healthcare-exclusiv/exclusive-fbi-targets-johnson-johnson-siemens-ge-philips-in-brazil-graft-case-sources-idUSKCN1SN0ZZ

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. As if that is happening only in Brazil......

for the last 20 years.....

seems as if a lot of the insane repub. behavior started with Reagan.