A new audit in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case shows the Sackler family transferred billions overseas in trusts and shell companies as the scrutiny of Purdue's role in the opiod crisis increased. They withdrew more than $10 billion from their company between 2008 and 2017. That amount is eight times what they took out in the thirteen years since the brand name opiod, Oxycontin, was approved by the FDA in 1995. Money flowing to the Sacklers soared after the company’s 2007 felony plea, peaking at $1.7 billion in 2009. The Sacklers have offered to settle addiction related claims for just $3 billion, but the revelation of the offshore transfers brings into question just how much the family is worth, and how much they profited from a drug responsible for the death and addiction of thousands of fellow 'Mericans.
The report by independent forensic accountants says half of the payments to the Sadler were allegedly for payment of taxes, but the transfers went to several locations known to be tax havens such as Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands. The family attorney affirmed that half of the $10.7 billion was used to pay taxes. The report details other company payments to the Sacklers for legal defense. The company covered $17million in legal fees for family members from 2018 to part of this
year,
Despite the obvious attempt to reduce their exposure to possible liability for marketing a dangerous drug, a spokesperson for the group of local government litigants supporting the settlement says their support for the settlement agreement remains unshaken. These cash-strapped plaintiffs attempting to recover millions expended in treating victims are not in the strongest of negotiating positions. Some states, like New York, want to know more about the Sackler's financial condition and are pursuing actions against them personally, at the risk of them withdrawing their company's settlement offer. Under the agreement, Purdue Pharma as a family owned company would cease to exist and become a public trust that would donate addiction treatment and paying plaintiffs. It would continue to manufacture drugs, including Oxycontin. Res Ipsa Loquitor.