We are investigating Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RBGLY) (“Reckitt” or the “Company”) for potential violations of the federal securities laws.
On July 24, 2017, Reckitt announced, in connection with its second quarter 2017 financial results, that it had recorded a £318 million charge related to the ongoing U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) investigations into its former Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Reckitt Pharma”) operations, the Company’s division dedicated to opioid addiction treatments. On this news, the price of Reckitt American depositary shares (“ADSs”) dropped 5% to close at $20.34 per ADS on July 24, 2017 on abnormally high trading volume. On February 19, 2018, Reckitt announced, in connection with its full year 2017 financial results, that it had recorded an exceptional charge of £296 million due to the DOJ and FTC investigations, and that the California Department of Insurance was also now investigating Reckitt. On this news, the price of Reckitt ADSs declined more than 10% to close at $16.76 per ADS on abnormally high trading volume. Then, on April 9, 2019, the DOJ filed a criminal indictment against Reckitt Pharma (now Indivior), which detailed a years-long scheme to defraud the public and the Company’s investors through the marketing and sale of Suboxone Film that had generated more than $3 billion in illicit scheme proceeds. The 28-count criminal indictment charged Indivior with multiple felonies, including conspiracy and mail, wire and healthcare fraud, and directly implicated the top executives of Reckitt and Reckitt Pharma. On this news, the price of Reckitt ADSs declined over 6% to close at $15.87 per ADS on April 10, 2019 on abnormally high trading volume.