7 ms·

Well, everything is public information, so I see no harm in sharing the names: Russian company: Angioline (http://www.angioline.ru http://www.angioline.ru, the

Well, everything is public information, so I see no harm in sharing the names: Russian company: Angioline (http://www.angioline.ru http://www.angioline.ru, the site is Russian-only) US company: Medtronic (http://www.medtronic.com http://www.medtronic.com) Oligarch: Victor Vekselberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Vekselberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Vekselberg) Joint-venture created by Vekselberg and Medtronic for "technology transfer": http://stentex.ru/en/about/company_news/199 http://stentex.ru/en/about/company_news/199 Ties in the government: http://www.renova.ru/en/press-center/releases/21/1995/ http://www.renova.ru/en/press-center/releases/21/1995/ Single-source decree of the government: https://rg.ru/2015/05/14/stent-site-dok.html https://rg.ru/2015/05/14/stent-site-dok.html (sorry, I can't find English version) Don't be fooled by the press releases above - no actual transfer or localisation has been done or planned in the nearest future, they are just moving stents from Medtronic to Russia.

danieltillett 10y ago
Anyone a shareholder in Medtronics want to show up at their next annual meeting and ask them about this?
- adrianN 10y ago
  Sounds like an excellent deal for the shareholders of Medtronics.
  - fauigerzigerk 10y ago
    I'm not so sure about that. There is something called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-cases.shtml https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-cases.shtml
  - danieltillett 10y ago
    Not if it induces a backlash. Plenty of companies have ended up burnt by some of their corrupt dealings.
- googamooga 10y ago
  > Sounds like an excellent deal for the shareholders of Medtronics. Exactly
- shawn-butler 10y ago
  The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are the people to speak to regarding violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act[0]. That is the law that bars American companies from bribing foreign-government officials anywhere in the world. As I recall DOJ declined to file charges against Medtronic in a previous 4-5 year investigation of their practices regarding payments to govt doctors in Europe and Malaysia so there is probably a 10-K Form in the 2012-2103 timeframe. DOJ/SEC have been actively pursuing health services and health technology companies so there is an open ear to complaints. 0: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/case/related-enforcement-actions/2015 https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/case/related-enforcem...
  - danieltillett 10y ago
    My gut feeling is DOJ might have trouble gathering evidence on this case. Also if Medtronics has any sort of competency they will have structured this deal very carefully to avoid FCPA problems. Sometimes the only way these sort of outrages are fixed is with sunlight and activism.
ComodoHacker 10y ago
Have you tried to reach Russian media with this?
- googamooga 10y ago
  Tried, it doesn't work. Mostly because all Russian media directly or indirectly controlled by the state and they will not confront the prime minister. We never tried Western media but I don't think there will be any interest from them. It could be a good case for FCPA investigation, though I doubt that the US will be interested in opening the FCPA case against the American company.
  - ComodoHacker 10y ago
    Was the prime minister also involved?
    - googamooga 10y ago
      The single-source government decree stating that Stentex/Medtronic should become single supplier of stents in Russia in 2017-2022 was signed by the prime minister. See the links above.
  - VincentEvans 10y ago
    Approach Novaya Gazeta. They regularly publish reports of this kind. I just don't see what good will it do in Russia. They just reply with "it's all fabricated lies of our enemies in the West!" and it seems to be good enough for majority of population.
  - jonknee 10y ago
    > It could be a good case for FCPA investigation, though I doubt that the US will be interested in opening the FCPA case against the American company. FWIW a lot FCPA cases are against American companies since it's an American rule. The only way a non-American company would end up against FCPA is if they were traded in US financial markets (so Renova Group couldn't be brought up on FCPA charges, but Medtronic definitely can be).
fosco 10y ago
seems like you can add this to the controversies listed in wiki --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Vekselberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Vekselberg shame is an effective tool as a catalyst for change (sometimes)
- charlesdm 10y ago
  I doubt that's the case for a guy as wealthy as him.

danieltillett 10y ago

Anyone a shareholder in Medtronics want to show up at their next annual meeting and ask them about this?

adrianN 10y ago
Sounds like an excellent deal for the shareholders of Medtronics.
- fauigerzigerk 10y ago
  I'm not so sure about that. There is something called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-cases.shtml https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-cases.shtml
- danieltillett 10y ago
  Not if it induces a backlash. Plenty of companies have ended up burnt by some of their corrupt dealings.
googamooga 10y ago
> Sounds like an excellent deal for the shareholders of Medtronics. Exactly
shawn-butler 10y ago
The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are the people to speak to regarding violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act[0]. That is the law that bars American companies from bribing foreign-government officials anywhere in the world. As I recall DOJ declined to file charges against Medtronic in a previous 4-5 year investigation of their practices regarding payments to govt doctors in Europe and Malaysia so there is probably a 10-K Form in the 2012-2103 timeframe. DOJ/SEC have been actively pursuing health services and health technology companies so there is an open ear to complaints. 0: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/case/related-enforcement-actions/2015 https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/case/related-enforcem...
- danieltillett 10y ago
  My gut feeling is DOJ might have trouble gathering evidence on this case. Also if Medtronics has any sort of competency they will have structured this deal very carefully to avoid FCPA problems. Sometimes the only way these sort of outrages are fixed is with sunlight and activism.

ComodoHacker 10y ago

Have you tried to reach Russian media with this?

googamooga 10y ago
Tried, it doesn't work. Mostly because all Russian media directly or indirectly controlled by the state and they will not confront the prime minister. We never tried Western media but I don't think there will be any interest from them. It could be a good case for FCPA investigation, though I doubt that the US will be interested in opening the FCPA case against the American company.
- ComodoHacker 10y ago
  Was the prime minister also involved?
  - googamooga 10y ago
    The single-source government decree stating that Stentex/Medtronic should become single supplier of stents in Russia in 2017-2022 was signed by the prime minister. See the links above.
- VincentEvans 10y ago
  Approach Novaya Gazeta. They regularly publish reports of this kind. I just don't see what good will it do in Russia. They just reply with "it's all fabricated lies of our enemies in the West!" and it seems to be good enough for majority of population.
- jonknee 10y ago
  > It could be a good case for FCPA investigation, though I doubt that the US will be interested in opening the FCPA case against the American company. FWIW a lot FCPA cases are against American companies since it's an American rule. The only way a non-American company would end up against FCPA is if they were traded in US financial markets (so Renova Group couldn't be brought up on FCPA charges, but Medtronic definitely can be).

fosco 10y ago

seems like you can add this to the controversies listed in wiki --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Vekselberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Vekselberg shame is an effective tool as a catalyst for change (sometimes)

charlesdm 10y ago
I doubt that's the case for a guy as wealthy as him.