LONDON (Alliance News) - UK investigator Peter Humphrey and his wife, who were hired by GlaxoSmithKline PLC's China head Mark Reilly in 2013, have been formally charged by Chinese authorities according to China's state news agency Xinhua.
The pair have been charged with illegally obtaining private information on Chinese citizens, the report said, citing prosecutor sources. This included buying information illegally from others, secret photography, infiltration or tailing individuals.
Humphrey and his wife Yu Ying Zeng, who together ran a company called ChinaWhys Co Ltd, were arrested last August. Humphrey was contracted by Mark Reilly in April 2013 to investigate an email making allegations of bribery by Glaxo, containing a sex tape of Reilly.
Humphrey was prepaid CNY100,000 for the investigation, and said he only learnt the details of the bribery allegations when he had finished an investigation into suspected whistle-blower Vivian Shi Wen, a former staff member of Glaxo.
Glaxo has been weathering a significant investigation from Chinese authorities based on the bribery allegations, claiming executives had been involved in payments of up to USD500 million to doctors and hospital executives over the past six years. Reilly was accused by Chinese police of ordering staff to bribe hospital officials in May.
Xinhua reported that local courts will hold a hearing about the case soon.
In June Glaxo said that it had "zero tolerance for any kind of corruption" in its business, and said it had committed "significant resources" to uncovering what had happened in China.
Shares in Glaxo were trading up 0.1% at 1,563.50 pence Monday.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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