SEC Subpoenas St. Jude Medical in Oil-For-Food Probe 

March 17, 2006
Newsmax
Original Source: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/3/17/122300.shtml

ST. PAUL, Minn. – (AP) The Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed St. Jude Medical Inc. in an investigation of the U.N. oil-for-food program, the medical device maker disclosed. 
More than 2,200 companies from around the world are accused in an October U.N. report of helping the Iraqi government cheat the U.N. program out of $1.8 billion. 
An Austrian arm of St. Jude was listed as paying $643,000 in kickbacks to secure a business deal with the Iraqi government. The company had $9.6 million in contracts for heart valves and other medical equipment as part of the U.N. program, according to the report. St. Jude officials said the company's sales in the region were made through an independent Jordanian business. 
The SEC issued the subpoena in February, and St. Jude said it is cooperating. St. Jude spokeswoman Angela Craig said the company is investigating the allegations and will update the SEC when it's done. 
The same U.N. report said Minnetonka-based agribusiness company Cargill Inc. paid $81,295 in the so-called service fees. Cargill operations in the U.S., France and Malaysia had nine contracts worth $48 million to supply Iraq with wheat, sugar and palm oil. 
When the allegations became public in October, officials for St. Jude and Cargill said then that they did not find any evidence of kickbacks. 
Cargill has not received a subpoena related to the U.N. report, said Lori Johnson, a spokeswoman for Cargill. She said her company has reviewed relevant records and continues to believe that we did not make any illegal or improper payments associated with those transactions.