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* Drugmaker reports second-quarter results on July 24
* Witty to give his perspective on crisis, sources say
* GSK says keeping all relevant regulators updated
* Problems arose despite multiple audits and dismissals
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline ChiefExecutive Andrew Witty will detail what action the drugmaker istaking in response to allegations of bribery against it in Chinawhen he presents quarterly results on Wednesday, sourcesfamiliar with the matter said.
Chinese authorities are investigating GSK deals with travelagencies worth up to 3 billion yuan ($489 million) that theyallege were used to facilitate bribes. The scale of the paymentshas fuelled debate as to whether GSK surveillance systems wereup to the job of spotting wrongdoing.
Although an internal company investigation has yet toconclude, people familiar with the matter said Witty woulddiscuss what may have gone wrong in the scandal, which hasrocked GSK's reputation and left its management in China indisarray.
"He will give his perspective on what appears to have goneon and how it can be put right," one of the sources said onSunday.
GSK has run into problems despite conducting up to 20internal audits in China each year, resulting in the sacking ofdozens of staff for misconduct. In 2012, GSK dismissed 312 stafffor policy violations worldwide, according to its annualCorporate Responsibility report, of which 56 were in China.
Britain's biggest drugmaker, which has described theallegations against it in China as "shameful", has already hiredErnst & Young to conduct an independent review of its systems inthe country and sent three senior executives to lead theresponse on the ground.
A company spokesman said it was also keeping all relevantregulators updated as appropriate. The charges from China couldexpose GSK to prosecution under Britain's Bribery Act and theU.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
GSK declined to comment further ahead of the second-quarterresults, which are due at 1100 GMT on July 24.
Despite the crisis, the company's shares have held up -reflecting the fact that China accounts for only around 3percent of sales.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts said in a researchnote that the financial impact of the affair was likely to belimited, although the issue would be a "key topic" at theresults update.
OTHERS SNARED IN CHINA
While the spotlight remains firmly on GSK, Chineseauthorities are also probing other companies and individualsinvolved in the pharmaceutical sector as part of a broad-baseddrive to root out corruption.
Two people familiar with the situation said at the weekendthat Shanghai police had arrested a British man, Peter Humphrey,who runs an international business risk advisory firm that hasworked with drug companies including GSK.
Humphrey - the founder of ChinaWhys, which says on itswebsite that it aims to guide multinationals through "thelabyrinth" of risks and opportunities in China - could not bereached for comment.
Last week, Chinese authorities also visited the Shanghaioffice of Belgian drugmaker UCB. A UCB spokesman saidthe visit was part of a wider investigation that included otherdrug companies, although he did not identify them.
