The Hindu, New Delhi, May 4, 2007
The Government has ordered a CBI probe into US firm Dow Chemicals’ disclosure about paying bribes to officials in India for securing approval for their pesticides.
Replying to queries, Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, said after
Dow Chemicals in February made the disclosure of paying two lakh
dollars in bribes, a preliminary inquiry was conducted which found
that a senior official of Central Insecticide Board and State-level
inspectors were paid money.
“Based on the findings of the preliminary enquiry, the Ministry has
decided to refer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation for
further action,” he said during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha.
As money could have been paid to several thousand inspectors across
many states, the case has been handed over to the CBI.
Pawar said the three formulations approved by the officer were also
being looked into to ascertain if they meet Indian standards.
“If the enquiry establishes malpractices, action will be taken against
the company also,” he said.
Dow Chemicals had on February 13 make a disclosure to the US
Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) of having bribed government
officials in India some years ago for securing registration/approval
of their products.

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