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news.British drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been reportedly hit with new allegations of bribing doctors and officials in Syria, to increase sales of its medicines.
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The fresh round of charges was said to be seen by Reuters news agency in an anonymous email sent to chief executive Andrew Witty and GSK audit committee chair Judy Lewent.
The email stated: "GSK has been engaging in multiple corrupt and illegal practices in conducting its pharmaceutical business in Syria."
The British drug-maker said that it will investigate the new claims. The company has suspended relations with its Syrian distributors, as a result of the investigation.
GlaxoSmithKline spokesman was quoted as saying that all the claims in this email will be thoroughly investigated using internal and external resources as part of our ongoing investigation into operations in Syria.
"We are committed to taking any disciplinary actions resulting from the findings. We have suspended our relationship with our distributors in the country pending the outcome of our investigation."
The company has also come under the scrutiny of the US and the UK regulators, with the US Department of Justice investigating for possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) while UK’s Serious Fraud Office is set to probe into its overseas activities.
GSK also faced similar bribery claims in China, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Poland.
In Syria, GSK sales were less than £6m a year, compared to a group turnover of £26.5bn in 2013.