Rising drug manufacturing-related violations in India and the involvement of U.S. companies in the scene have resulted in whistleblower law firms from the U.S. looking for potential clients in the South Asian country, according to media reports.
According to the Economic Times, law firms such as Constantine Cannon and Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto Partners are scouting for whistleblowers to report fraud under the provisions of False Claims Act (FCA), or the whistle-blowing programmes of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Internal Revenue Service, and offer complete anonymity to whistleblowers besides legal services linked to possible compensation.
Industry insiders have stated that interest of whistle-blowing firms in India has grown after the Ranbaxy scandal, which saw one of its former employees walk away with a $48 million reward from the U.S. Department of Justice for bringing to light the company's involvement in adulterated drugs supply to the U.S. Medicaid programme.
Under the FCA and SEC whistleblower programmes, the United States recovered nearly $4.5 billion last year, the report added.
