Novartis Hellas must pay $225 million penalty

Novartis Hellas must pay a $225 million penalty over bribery charges, according to a ruling by the US Department of Justice that was made public yesterday. Novartis AG and Alcon Pte, a former Novartis unit, will pay more than $346 million to defer prosecution on criminal and civil charges that they bribed doctors, hospitals and clinics to prescribe their drugs in exchange for a commitment by the companies to reform their practices, the ruling said. In a statement, Novartis said that yesterday’s resolutions “contain no allegations relating to any bribery of Greek politicians, which is consistent with what Novartis found in its own internal investigation.”