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Whistleblower suit alleges Sanofi kickback scheme

December 5, 2014 2:09 AM UTC

A former employee of Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NYSE:SNY) filed a lawsuit alleging that former CEO Christopher Viehbacher and other company executives and managers disbursed $34 million through consultants Accenture and Deloitte in a scheme to induce physicians, hospitals and retail pharmacies to switch patients to the pharma's diabetes drugs. The suit further claims Viehbacher was removed as CEO in part because of his involvement in the alleged kickback scheme.

Plaintiff Diane Ponte alleges that she reviewed nine Sanofi contracts with Accenture and Deloitte in March 2013 that she believed "involved illegal incentives and/or kickbacks" from Sanofi. Neither Accenture or Deloitte are named as defendants in the action. ...