Bribes Investigation

Executives from GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly may be interviewed by Britain's Serious Fraud Office as part of its investigation into allegations that British companies paid bribes to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.

The inquiry comes in the wake of the 2005 UN report by Paul Volcker, who listed more than 2000 companies worldwide that could have been involved with bribes paid to the former Iraqi regime to secure contracts under the UN program.

The report has found evidence suggesting AstraZeneca had paid $162K in kickbacks to secure $2.9M of contracts. GSK was accused of paying $1M for business worth $11.9M.

The investigation could take years, and is expected to cost £22M.