GSK China chiefs admit bribery, tax violations

GlaxoSmithKline executives in China have confessed to bribery and tax violations, the country’s security ministry said yesterday during one of a string of investigations into foreign firms in the world’s second-biggest economy.

The ministry said the case against Britain’s biggest drugmaker involved a large number of staff and a huge sum of money over an extended period of time, with bribes offered to Chinese government officials, medical associations, hospitals and doctors to boost sales and prices.

GSK executives also used fake receipts in unspecified tax law violations, it added.