InfoAnda - French health minister says implant boss must answer |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

US jobless rate hit 10.2 percent; Obama eyes new steps | 7 November 2009
Hunt for clues after India crash kills 158; 8 live | 23 May 2010
Twitter eyes foray into TV | Technology | | 26 May 2009

U.S. missile strike kills 20 militants in Pakistan | | 16 November 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : French health minister says implant boss must answer |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Davos 2012 Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Gregg Easterbrook Nader Mousavizadeh James Saft Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Money Money Home Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Life & Culture Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Article Comments (0) Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Best photos of the year Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Gingrich questions Ron Paul on racist newsletters 23 Dec 2011 French breast implant boss wanted by Interpol 23 Dec 2011 NORAD's Santa tracking set to launch on Christmas Eve 23 Dec 2011 Gingrich out of Virginia primary election 10:58am EST Tens of thousands of protesters pile pressure on Putin | 10:56am EST Discussed 280 In ad for newsletter, Ron Paul forecast ”race war” 131 Slumping Gingrich promises sharper counter-punch 114 North Korea state TV says Kim Jong il has died Watched Heart scare for Britain's Prince Philip Fri, Dec 23 2011 Homelessness rising in UK 5:41am EST New ISS crew welcomed Fri, Dec 23 2011 French health minister says implant boss must answer Tweet Share this Email Print Related News France, UK issue clashing advice on breast implants Fri, Dec 23 2011 Brazil tells suspect implant users to seek check-up Fri, Dec 23 2011 French breast implant boss wanted by Interpol Fri, Dec 23 2011 Germany urges women to check suspect breast implants Fri, Dec 23 2011 France recommends removal of suspect breast implants Fri, Dec 23 2011 Analysis & Opinion Cheeseburgers and death: de-socializing health care Related Topics World » France » Plastic surgeon Denis Boucq displays a defective silicone gel breast implant manufactured by French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) after he removed it from a patient in a clinic in Nice December 21, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Eric Gaillard Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:03am EST PARIS (Reuters) - France's health minister called on Saturday for the head of the breast implant maker accused of selling faulty prostheses to tens of thousands of women around the world to be found, calling the growing scandal a "shady business." Jean-Claude Mas, 72, the founder and CEO of French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) has not been seen or heard of in public since the scandal potentially affecting 300,000 women around the world broke. His company is accused of using sub-standard industrial silicone in some of its implants, which were sold globally before being taken off the market in 2010. "It's obvious we have to find him (Mas) and those who had an interest in this company," French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand told Europe 1 radio on Saturday. "They have to answer for their actions." "It's a shady business with lots of money involved," Bertrand said. "In not using the advertised product (silicone) they tried to make some money, that's the worst of it, on the health of women." PIP's lawyer has said Mas and the company's chief financial officer were keeping silent "out of decency and discretion" but were still in the south of France. On Saturday, international police agency Interpol confirmed that it had issued a so-called "red notice" for Mas, but said it was unrelated to his activities at PIP. Interpol said the notice was related to an affair in Costa Rica in June 2010, when police there say he was arrested for a drunk driving offence but fled the country and did not show up for a court date. Mas was briefly questioned by police in November 2010 but has never been summoned to court. A judicial source has told Reuters, however, that between four and six executives could be charged by a Marseilles criminal court for aggravated fraud. "HOME-MADE" GOO Just what that fraud was is the subject of controversy, with varying accounts of who knew what at the company in an industrial town outside the southern city of Toulon. Undated photographs that accompanied news stories in 2010 and taken by a photographer for the regional newspaper Var-Matin showed workers in blue gowns filling rows of prostheses with silicone gel. Masked and gloved, they looked as if they worked at an above-board professional health company. But French health officials discovered last year that PIP was using a home-made brew of silicone, an industrial variety not approved by health authorities. "You had to have been a chemist to have noticed anything," a former PIP worker and union chief, Eric Mariaccia, told Reuters. "The responsible ones aren't the workers but the heads of the company, notably the four who were linked to production and thus responsible for their quality," he said. At the company, which eventually shut its doors in 2010 after bankruptcy, Mas gave the orders, even though he was technically in retirement and CFO Claude Couty worked on operations, Mariaccia said. "The silicone gel was made at the factory, at PIP," he said. "It was a 'home-made' gel." But other workers painted a more menacing picture of operations at PIP. The false gel had been used since 2001, as PIP bosses were seduced by the price difference between their home-made version and the approved gel, according to an unnamed former PIP executive interviewed for an August 2, 2010 story in Var-Matin. Reuters was unable to immediately confirm the account given by the Var-Matin source. Var-Matin quoted the unidentified former PIP executive as saying that while medical silicone gel cost about $60 for 200 kg (441 pounds), PIP's industrial version cost about $10. Although nobody at the company talked about the two different kinds of silicone being used in the implants, it was obvious by sight, the ex-manager told Var-Matin. "The medical gel didn't run. By contrast, the 'fake gel' was like soapy water." PIP was able to continue its ruse because periodic checks by regulators were pre-announced and even suppliers of the industrial oil used to make the silicone were lied to, according to the former executive. "PIP said that this oil was being used to make hand soap." Some buyers of the implants, however, were in on the game, Var-Matin quoted the former executive as saying. "With exports, you'd hear, 'You want a pack of prostheses. Good ones or bad ones?' Everything depended on the relationships we had with the distributors," he said. (Writing by Alexandria Sage; Editing by) World France Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Saturday, 24 December 2011
Analysis: What's the plan if North Korea collapses? |
Russia test-fires two new nuclear missiles |
UK's Prince Philip in hospital after chest pains |
Day of violence in northern Nigeria kills at least 24 |
Syria's Alawites are secretive, unorthodox sect |
Analysis: Mexico 2012 frontrunner stirs reform optimism |
Thousands sign up for new Russian protest |
RIM now faces legal challenge on BBM trademark |
U.S. shoppers less than merry after online glitches |
Amazon may benefit as digital goods sales jump |
Indian courts challenge Facebook, Google content: report |
Intel's smartphone guru angles for smooth landing |
FBI computer system delayed again after snag |
Etta James on breathing machine in Calif. hospital |
Tyler, The Creator arrested for vandalism |
China film stirs passions anew before Japan PM visit |
Michael Buble brings Christmas to CityVille |
Corrected: Zhang, Bale blossom together on Flowers of War |
UK's Prince Philip, 90, has heart surgery |
Cuba to free 2,900 in sweeping amnesty |
Fuel pipeline blast kills 11 in Colombia |
Yahoo board continues talks on Asian deal: report |
Mel Gibson, wife finalize divorce |
Taylor Swift, T-Bone Burnett on Hunger Games album |
Robert De Niro welcomes baby girl |
Mourning Syrians rally for Assad |
Yemen forces fire to stop marchers demanding Saleh |
Former South Korean first lady to go North to mark Kim's death |
Nigeria sect clashes kill at least 68
Somalia appeals against U.S. wire transfer closure |
French health minister says implant boss must answer |
Gaza's thriving tunnel imports unleash building boom |
Christmas pilgrims pray for peace in Bethlehem |
As Kodak struggles, Eastman Chemical thrives |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01