Apple Manager Arrested over Kickback Payments

Apple manager Paul Shin Devine has been arrested for accepting over $1 million in kickback payments from various Asian accessories suppliers for the iPhone and iPod.

The mid-level manager was arrested together with Singapore-based global supply chain manager Andrew Ang. The pair are being held on 23 counts of money transfer fraud, money laundering and kickbacks uncovered as part of a joint investigation by the US Internal Revenue Service and the FBI.

The official indictment describes how Devine used his position at Apple to provide a number of suppliers, notably Andrew Ang, with confidential information. The suppliers and manufacturers concerned then paid kickback fees to the pair in return for favouring their companies.

In an official statement from Apple, spokesman Steve Dowling said: 'Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business. [...] We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company.'




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