When I saw reports that the US company Quest
Diagnostics was entering Australia by acquiring the laboratory
division of SmithKline Beecham who had paid US $325 million to settle
a fraud action brought under operation Labscam. I found that these
groups also had been part of the Labscan scandal. While it was 6 of
one or half a dozen of the other I did not let the opportunity pass.
This is the letter to FIRB.
16 April 1999
Mr A Hinton
Foreign Investment and Review Board (FIRB)
The Treasury Building
Parkes Place
PARKES
ACT 2600
Dear Mr Hinton,
International Healthcare Corporations- Quest Diagnostics
I am aware that the company Quest Diagnostics has taken over the diagnostic facilities of Smith Kline Beecham in the USA and will I understand run their laboratories in Australia.
Quest diagnostics was recently spun off from Corning and consists of all the diagnostic corporations previously owned by Corning.
The documents enclosed indicate that many of these Corning laboratories were caught in operation labscam and paid large fines for defrauding medicare using dishonest criminal practices. I do not know if this was the real reason why they were spun off form Corning. The companies mentioned in regard to labscam include "Corning/Metpath, Corning/BioRan, Corning/Damon". Note that the company "Damon Clinical Laboratories" paid US 83.7 million. One of the commonest allegations by labscam was that laboratories paid kickbacks to doctors.
I do not have further information at this time and must leave it to you to investigate. They sound thoroughly unsavoury and not the sort of people we want in Australia.
Yours sincerely,
