Adcock Ingram boss faces perjury charges

The commission believes that Barnett provided false information to the commission, according to I-Net Bridge. Barnett was alleged to have directly instigated and/or taken part in meetings and telephone discussions between AICC and its competitors involving price fixing and the division of markets in the supply of intravenous solutions. During its investigations, the commission questioned Barnett about this, but he denied any knowledge or involvement in meetings or telephone discussions with competitors in terms of which the parties agreed to tender collusively or to divide the private hospital market among themselves. Specifically, he was asked if he was aware of any conversation or agreement or arrangement reached between Adcock Ingram Critical Care (and its competitors) regarding the allocation of volumes, of products and the prices to be tendered for RT/299. Barnett, under oath, responded that he was not aware of this. The commission's investigation established that AICC and its competitors had tendered collusively with respect to Contract RT299 and that there was agreement to divide the private hospital market among themselves. It further established that Barnett, acting in his capacity as an employee of AICC, had attended meetings and conducted telephone conversations in which he and the representatives of AICC's competitors had agreed to tender collusively in respect of Contract RT299 and/or to divide the private hospital market. In its affidavit, the commission said: 'Barnett's answers to the questions posed by the Commission have been proved to be false, and he knew or ought reasonably to have known at the time that his answers were false.' Full I-Net Bridge report