Money out of thin air, needed only to keep the bribes flowing.’ Proekt reports...

“Money out of thin air, needed only to keep the bribes flowing.” Proekt reports how Western pharmaceutical companies spend billions on corruption in Russia

About 40 billion rubles a year may be spent on bribes in government purchases of imported medicines. According to the investigative outlet Proekt, major foreign pharmaceutical companies pay Russian distributors large “bonuses” averaging about 30% of the purchase price. Intermediary firms divide the money among themselves, with some of it going to bribes for hospital chief physicians and officials. In Russia, people connected to the Russian authorities profit from the scheme, while in the United States, its existence is known even at the Justice Department level.

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Western pharmaceutical companies spend up to 40 billion rubles a year on bribes connected to medicine supplies to Russia

Foreign pharmaceutical companies that supply cancer drugs to Russia spend about $500 million a year on “bonuses” for intermediaries, suppliers and employees of Russian hospitals. That is according to an investigation by Proekt…