One of the highest profile cases in a recent series of probes against multinationals in China has reached an emphatic but reasonably just conclusion, with word that Beijing has fined British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (London: GSK) nearly half a billion dollars and handed several of its top local executives suspended jail sentences. I was never a big fan of this investigation, which saw GSK pursued for bribing doctors and other medical professionals to buy its drugs. That’s not because I think GSK was innocent in this case, but rather because I think the company was unfairly singled out for punishment for corrupt practices that are widespread in China’s business culture. Read Full Post…
