BEIJING, Aug 21 (Reuters) - A British risk consultant heldin China since mid-July amid an investigation into the country'spharmaceutical industry has been arrested, the British Embassyin Beijing and his family said on Wednesday.
Peter Humphrey and his wife, Yu Yingzeng, were detained inShanghai on July 10 as police probed bribery allegations againstBritish drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
In China, an arrest typically means police believe they haveenough evidence for a case to be brought to trial. Detentionscan last for weeks and end in release without charges beingfiled.
It was not immediately clear if Humphrey's arrest wasdirectly related to the investigation of GSK, which has beenaccused by China of funnelling up to 3 billion yuan ($489million) to travel agencies to facilitate bribes to doctors andofficials.
China has taken a tough stance on corruption and high pricesin the pharmaceutical industry as it unrolls wider healthcareaccess and faces an estimated $1 trillion healthcare bill by2020.
"We can confirm the arrest of a British national, PeterHumphrey, in Shanghai on Monday the 19th of August. We arecurrently providing consular assistance," British Embassyspokeswoman Hannah Oussedik told Reuters by phone.
Oussedik declined to offer additional information about thereasons for Humphrey's arrest. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing couldnot be reached immediately to confirm whether Yu was alsoarrested. The U.S. Consulate in Shanghai declined to comment.
Shanghai police did not respond to a request for comment.
A statement issued by a member of Humphrey's family saidboth Humphrey and Yu had been arrested.
A source close to the family said they had not yet been toldwhich charges would be laid against Humphrey, or when, but thestatement said lawyers told the family the couple had beendetained last month because they broke a law related to buyingprivate information.
Humphrey and Yu co-founded ChinaWhys, a business riskadvisory firm that has done work with drugs companies, includingGSK, separate sources familiar with the matter have said.
Humphrey worked as a journalist for Reuters in the 1980s and90s. The ChinaWhys website says he has been a risk managementspecialist and corporate detective for 14 years.
In March 2010, four executives from mining giant Rio Tinto were jailed for taking bribes and stealingcommercial secrets. Three of those executives were Chinese whilethe fourth was a Chinese-born Australian.
Rio Tinto (RIO)
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)
