WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Teva’s wholly-owned Russian subsidiary, Teva LLC (Teva Russia), is also subject to the ruling, according to the Justice Department.
"Teva and its subsidiaries paid millions of dollars in bribes to government officials in various countries, and intentionally failed to implement a system of internal controls that would prevent bribery," Caldwell stated.
The Justice Department explained that Teva employees paid bribes to a Russian official in order to increase sales of the multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone in Moscow’s annual drug purchase auctions.
The company earned more than $200 million on the Russian sales of the drug, while the official received some $65 million in profits, according to the release.
In Ukraine, Teva paid some $200,000 to an official within the Ministry of Health to obtain approval of drug registrations.
In addition, the company failed to implement a system of internal accounting controls in its Mexican subsidiary, which allowed bribes to doctors employed by the Mexican government, the Justice Department added.
