Corruption, Crime, Estonia, Legislation, Medicine

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Member of Estonia's HIV medication panel arrested on bribe-taking charges

BC, Tallinn, 17.09.2018.Print version
Police in Estonia have detained Matti Maimets, chairman of the Estonian Infectious Diseases Society and head of the department for infectious diseases at Tartu University Hospital, as suspect in bribe taking on repeated occasions, informs LETA/BNS referring to the news portal of public broadcaster ERR.

Maimets, associate professor and head of the chair for infectious diseases at the University of Tartu, is suspected of taking bribes from several pharmaceutical companies on repeated occasions in his capacity as member of the Ministry of Social Affairs' committee on HIV medication, the Aktuaalne Kaamera newscast of ERR said.


Mati Ombler, head of the office for combating corruption crimes at Estonia's Central Criminal Police, said that staffers from their office last week detained a member of the committee coordinating the acquisition of antiretroviral medication as suspect in bribe-taking on repeated occasions.


"According to the suspicion, he is suspected of accepting bribes from manufacturers of medicines and marketing companies over a period of two or three years in order for the committee to prefer the medicines marketed by these companies," Ombler said.

When asked if the suspect was Matti Maimets, Omber answered in the affirmative.


Kairi Kaldoja, lead prosecutor at the South District Prosecutor's Office, said that the suspicion deals with episodes allegedly committed by Maimets as a member of the committee of the Ministry of Social Affairs as well as of the relevant consilium at the university.


According to ERR, the alleged bribe-givers are companies that are members of the Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Estonia (APME) and include the Estonian unit of Janssen, pharmaceutical arm of Johnson & Johnson.


This was confirmed to ERR by the head of the company's Baltic operations, Aki Kasvi.


"We confirm that the authorities have approached the Estonian office of Janssen in connection with an ongoing investigation," Kasvi said. He said the company was altogether cooperating with the authorities but refused to give any details citing the ongoing investigation.


ERR has learned that the amount that changed hands as a bribe is at least 70,000 euros.


Investigating bodies on Monday evening spoke of bribes measuring in the tens of thousands of euros.


In 2017, the government increased the budget of HIV and AIDS medication from 10 mln to 15 mln euros. What medicines are bought for that money and from what companies is decided about by the committee at the Ministry of Social Affairs.

 






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