Polish prosecutors accused medical device giant Stryker’s (NYSE:SYK) regional division of running a bribery scheme to win contracts with local hospitals, according to an Associated Press report.
The allegations preceded a thorough investigation of Stryker’s Poland arm, which included searches on offices and apartments in pursuit of evidence relating to deals forged by the company between 2003 and 2006.
Investigators are looking for indication that Stryker representatives offered hospital leaders bribes in exchange for lucrative contracts, part of a kickbacks scheme believed to involve around 100 individuals and 51 hospitals, according to the AP report.
Stryker representatives declined to comment on the matter, noting that "as a matter of company policy, Stryker does not comment on legal matters."
The device maker has had a run of bad luck lately. Last month a Missouri federal court unsealed an off-label marketing lawsuit against Stryker and other pain pump makers, accusing them of explicitly marketing pain drug pumps for use in articulating joints such as the shoulder and knee, despite the FDA’s rejection of the devices for orthopedic uses.
In November a federal judge denied Stryker’s move to quash a product liability lawsuit filed over its recalled Trident metal-on-metal hip implant.
Just weeks earlier the Securities & Exchange Commission charged Stryker marketing executive Mark Foldy alongside a handful of others in an insider trading scheme that allegedly generated $1.7 million in illegal profits and kickbacks.
SYK shares were up 1.4% today to trade at $55.61 as of about 1 p.m.
