British drug giant to cooperate with China in bribery inquiry

LONDON - Britain's biggest drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said Thursday it is willing to cooperate with Chinese authorities in the inquiry of suspected bribery and tax-related violations in China.

"We continuously monitor our businesses to ensure they meet our strict compliance procedures -- we have done this in China and found no evidence of bribery or corruption of doctors or government officials. However, if evidence of such activity is provided we will act swiftly on it," GSK told Xinhua.

The allegations against GSK, which China's Public Security Ministry classified as "serious economic crimes," include the bribing of doctors and officials in order to open new sales channels and increase drug revenues.

The employees have also allegedly used fake receipts to violate tax regulations, according to a statement on the ministry's website.

But details including the identities of involved employees and the time of the questioning have not yet been made public.

In July 2012, the London-based drug giant was fined $3 billion for criminal and civil charges of healthcare fraud in the United States.