Former Roche executives face prison terms
Prosecutors asked for prison terms of up to 12 years for the defendants, including former Turkish manager of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, Faruk Yöneyman, for the overpricing of drugs sold to the Health Ministry.
Former executives of Roche Turkey and officials from the state-run Social Security Agency (SGK) are being retried in the case dating back to 2004. Yöneyman and two directors at the SGK in charge of the acquisition of drugs for patients in the public healthcare system are among defendants accused of the sale and purchases of drugs for astronomical fees. The defendants were detained in 2004 but were later freed without being convicted after a lengthy legal process, which led the case to be closed due to a statute of limitations.
The new indictment accuses Yöneyman and others of being involved in the abuse of duty and corruption regarding tenders, and comes months after the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled a mistrial, as the case was originally heard by a court authorized in hearing the lawsuits with light sentences.
The corruption scandal broke when a Turkish employee of Roche notified authorities about the enormous price difference in the sales of an anemia drug to private hospitals and hospitals operated by the SGK. In August 2004, security forces raided the headquarters of Roche Turkey, and executives of the company as well as a local pharmaceutical company and bureaucrats from the SGK were detained.
Yöneyman and others were released pending trial. He has since retired from his position at Roche after the scandal broke, while the company reportedly paid TL 5.2 million ($1.792 million) at the time to the state for ill-gotten gains. The Prime Ministry's Board of Inspection, a top body looking into wrongdoings in major criminal cases, had looked into the misconduct in medicine acquisition and had found that 29 other pharmaceutical companies were overcharging the state for drug sales. A separate lawsuit was filed for those companies.
A hearing on the retrial will be held in February with the court ordering the defendants and their lawyers to prepare their defense against the charges.
Former executives of Roche Turkey and officials from the state-run Social Security Agency (SGK) are being retried in the case dating back to 2004. Yöneyman and two directors at the SGK in charge of the acquisition of drugs for patients in the public healthcare system are among defendants accused of the sale and purchases of drugs for astronomical fees. The defendants were detained in 2004 but were later freed without being convicted after a lengthy legal process, which led the case to be closed due to a statute of limitations.
The new indictment accuses Yöneyman and others of being involved in the abuse of duty and corruption regarding tenders, and comes months after the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled a mistrial, as the case was originally heard by a court authorized in hearing the lawsuits with light sentences.
The corruption scandal broke when a Turkish employee of Roche notified authorities about the enormous price difference in the sales of an anemia drug to private hospitals and hospitals operated by the SGK. In August 2004, security forces raided the headquarters of Roche Turkey, and executives of the company as well as a local pharmaceutical company and bureaucrats from the SGK were detained.
Yöneyman and others were released pending trial. He has since retired from his position at Roche after the scandal broke, while the company reportedly paid TL 5.2 million ($1.792 million) at the time to the state for ill-gotten gains. The Prime Ministry's Board of Inspection, a top body looking into wrongdoings in major criminal cases, had looked into the misconduct in medicine acquisition and had found that 29 other pharmaceutical companies were overcharging the state for drug sales. A separate lawsuit was filed for those companies.
A hearing on the retrial will be held in February with the court ordering the defendants and their lawyers to prepare their defense against the charges.
Last Update: October 16, 2015 21:43