Two suppliers of mosquito nets said Friday they are working to improve
financial controls after their contracts in Cambodia were suspended by a
$24 billion health fund that uncovered evidence of bribery.
The two suppliers, Vestergaard Frandsen of Switzerland and Sumitomo
Chemical Singapore, said in separate statements they were working to
correct problems that they attributed to employee misconduct.
In a statement, Sumitomo Chemical Singapore said it "takes a serious
stand against employee misconduct of any kind and has taken appropriate
remedial measures."
Vestergaard said in a company statement the improper activity by two
employees in Vestergaard Frandsen India "was not known or approved by
our management in Switzerland," which it said is committed to the
highest ethical and business practices.
"Nonetheless, Vestergaard is ultimately responsible for the company and
actions in any of its subsidiaries," it said. "We have implemented
corrective actions that include improved controls and procedures in all
our operations."
The companies were reacting to an investigation report published
Thursday by the inspector general's office of the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which said the fund uncovered "serious
financial wrongdoing in Cambodia."
The Geneva-based fund, which has committed aid to 151 countries since
its creation in 2002, said that between 2006 and 2011 the two mosquito
net suppliers paid two Cambodian officials about $410,000 to gain
contracts for insecticide-treated nets that prevent the spread of
malaria.
Both companies cooperated with the fund's investigation, which began in
2011, the fund said, and each of the companies took action against the
employees involved.
The fund said in a statement that even though a grant in Cambodia "was
compromised by the commission payments, all the mosquito nets procured
by that grant were provided as intended
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