News broke in May that Philips, Johnson & Johnson, Siemens AG and General Electric (GE) were under investigation for allegedly paying kickbacks to government officials in Brazil to secure medical equipment contracts. Imaging solutions were included in the list of products associated with the alleged wrongdoing.
According to brand new reporting from Reuters, Philips was warned about the situation in advance by an employee who was later fired. That employee, Jose Israel Masiero Filho, told Reuters he emailed “an internal Philips hotline” in 2010 and spoke with at least four senior employees.
Reuters reached out to Philips, Johnson & Johnson, Siemens AG and GE for comment. Philips did not discuss the employee’s specific allegations or comment on why he was fired, but did say in a statement to Reuters that it is “cooperating with Brazilian authorities investigating the nation’s medical device industry.” The other companies did not comment.
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Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.