NY AG says Purdue Pharma Owners Have Millions Stashed Away In Swiss Bank

Attorney General of New York filed in court papers that the owners of Purdue Pharma have concealed millions of dollars in their family’s Swiss bank accounts. This money was transferred from the company to the family. Purdue Pharma is the manufacturer of popular painkiller Oxycontin. New York state authorities asked a judge to issue and enforce subpoenas to the owners of Purdue Pharma – the Sackler family. Banks, advisers, and companies connected to this case have also had warrants issued. A transfer of $1 billion between parties is already documented.

Prosecutors found transactions worth millions from Purdue Pharma’s parent company to erstwhile board member Mortimer Sackler. He then moved vast amounts of money to the family’s shell companies in the Hamptons and Manhattan. The case was filed following state orders alleging that the Oxycontin maker is flooding prescription painkillers in the community. It was also ordered that a tentative settlement between the pharma maker and Stamford also be rejected. Oxycontin is an opiate and a very potent painkiller. It is used as a recreational drug, and users are very prone to death from overdose.

New York and other states intend to pursue the Sacklers, claiming that the family drained $4 billion from the firm over the past twelve years. The company plans to file bankruptcy protection as part of the settlement, which has now been stalled.

A state judge commented that the only way to get to the depth of all the transactions made by the family is to issue subpoenas. Those would force them to reveal detailed documents related to all financial movements.

Letitia James, Attorney General for NY, said that the Sackler family would not be allowed to misuse the legal system and the courts to keep their financial transactions discreet. She said that the court had a limited number of documents. Based on those documents, she said that there was a necessity for compliance.