Chinese AstraZeneca CEO arrested in fraud investigation

The CEO of the Chinese activities of the Swedish-British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has been arrested by the Chinese authorities. The company announced this. A major fraud investigation is underway in China against AstraZeneca.

In September, AstraZeneca announced that authorities in the city of Shenzhen, in southern China, were investigating several employees. They are said to have violated Chinese privacy laws by collecting patient data, and there is also talk of the possible import of a drug against liver cancer that had not yet been approved by the Chinese authorities.

Last month, AstraZeneca confirmed that Chinese CEO Leon Wang was one of the people under investigation. According to the Bloomberg news agency, the investigation focuses on five people, all of Chinese nationality.

China is an important market for AstraZeneca. Sales in the Asian country account for 13 percent of the company’s total turnover.

By Editor