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 The two suppliers, Vestergaard Frandsen of Switzerland and Sumitomo
Chemical Singapore, said in separate statements they were working to
correct problems that they attributed to employee misconduct. In a statement, Sumitomo Chemical Singapore said it "takes a serious
stand against employee misconduct of any kind and has taken
appropriate remedial measures." Vestergaard said in a company statement the improper activity by two
employees in Vestergaard Frandsen India "was not known or approved
by our management in Switzerland," which it said is committed to the
highest ethical and business practices.
 "Nonetheless, Vestergaard is ultimately responsible for the company
and actions in any of its subsidiaries," it said. "We have
implemented corrective actions that include improved controls and
procedures in all our operations." The companies were reacting to an investigation report published
Thursday by the inspector general's office of the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which said the fund uncovered
"serious financial wrongdoing in Cambodia."
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The Geneva-based fund, which has committed aid to 151 countries
since its creation in 2002, said that between 2006 and 2011 the two
mosquito net suppliers paid two Cambodian officials about $410,000
to gain contracts for insecticide-treated nets that prevent the
spread of malaria. Both companies cooperated with the fund's investigation, which began
in 2011, the fund said, and each of the companies took action
against the employees involved. The fund said in a statement that even though a grant in Cambodia
"was compromised by the commission payments, all the mosquito nets
procured by that grant were provided as intended."
[Associated
Press; JOHN HEILPRIN]
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