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Key Takeaways
- AstraZeneca shares declined Tuesday after reports that senior executives in China were potentially implicated in an insurance fraud case.
- AstraZeneca China President Leon Wang is cooperating with Chinese authorities, the company said last week.
- In September, five current and former AstraZeneca employees were detained by police in China in connection with multiple investigations.
AstraZeneca (AZN) shares dropped Tuesday after a report that dozens of the company’s senior executives in China potentially have been implicated in an insurance fraud case, according to a report from The Guardian citing a financial media firm in the country.
The company said that Leon Wang, the president of AstraZeneca China, was cooperating with an ongoing investigation. “If requested, we will fully cooperate with the Chinese authorities,” AstraZeneca said in a statement Tuesday.
Chinese Police Detained Executives in September
The report comes after five current and former AstraZeneca employees were detained by police in China in September in connection with alleged violations of data privacy laws and for importing an unapproved cancer drug, according to a Bloomberg report.
AstraZeneca reportedly employs roughly 16,000 workers in China and has operated there since 1993. U.S.-listed shares of the company fell more than 7% Tuesday to close at $66.27 and are down 1.6% in 2024.