GlaxoSmithKline used a network of more than 700 Chinese travel agencies and other firms to channel bribes to health officials, state media reported Monday.
The Xinhua news agency, citing Chinese police, said four senior Chinese executives working for the U.K. pharmaceuticals group had been detained and would be charged once preliminary investigations are complete.
Since 2007, GlaxoSmithKline (GLAXF)used the network to channel hundreds of millions of dollars to government officials, medical associations, hospitals and doctors with the aim of raising drug sales and prices, media reported.
The state news agency said the transfers totaled nearly $5 billion while other media said the figure was a tenth of that.