Two foreign investigators linked to pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have been charged by prosecutors in Shanghai.

Peter Humphrey, who was hired by GSK to find out who had been sending explicit videos of his China boss, and his wife, have been charged with "illegally obtaining private information".

The news comes amid accusations that the company bribed its way to winning drug supply contracts in China.

Humphrey's investigations agency, ChinaWhys, was trying to unearth who had sent a sex tape of Glaxo's general manager in China, Mark Reilly, with his girlfriend, via email to senior executives at the company.

The emails were also thought to have included a number of allegations of corruption against him.

ChinaWhys is a popular UK service for carrying out diligence on companies and people on China.

Xinhua news agency reported that Humphrey and his wife had "illegally trafficked a huge amount of personal information on Chinese citizens for profit".

It is the first time Chinese prosecutors have indicted foreigners for an illegal investigation, the report said.

RD

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