A French unit of Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc. has come up in a U.N. report looking at corruption in the oil-for-food scandal in Iraq during the 1990s.
Immunotech SAS, which Beckman acquired in its 1997 buy of Coulter Corp., is one of 2,253 companies listed in an independent U.N. committee’s Report on Programme Manipulation regarding the oil-for-food effort.
But Immunotech’s inclusion seems more a matter of accounting than major corruption.
The biotechnology company is listed as having illegally paid $2 to the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein, according to a Beckman Coulter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 2001, Immunotech had an $823,044 contract through the oil-for-food program to provide medical supplies to the Iraqi government.
Iraqi officials did seek more money from Immunotech, asking for $74,823 in illicit payments, Beckman said.
Beckman said it’s investigated the matter and is sharing its findings with the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
U.S. companies are prohibited by law from paying any bribes to foreign governments.
“If Beckman Coulter, Immunotech or any of their employees are determined to have violated any laws or regulations, Immunotech and/or Beckman Coulter may be subject to fines, penalties, lawsuits, restrictions on their operations or other administrative actions,” Beckman said in the filing.
The oil-for-food program was started by the U.N. in 1995 to allow Iraq to sell oil to buy food, medicine and provide other basic needs. The move was seen as a humanitarian way to help Iraq, which faced sanctions after the Gulf War.
The program, which saw widespread corruption, ended with the 2003 U.S. invasion.
