US authorities have indicted Apple manager Paul Devine, accusing him of taking well over $1 million (€780,904) in kickbacks from the company’s Asian manufacturers in exchange for helping them win contracts.
As well as a federal indictment from the US Internal Revenue Service, Devine is also the target of a lawsuit from Apple itself.
Devine, who was responsible for procuring parts for iPhone and iPod handsets, allegedly received payments over at least three years from suppliers in countries including China, Singapore and Korea, FT.com said.
In exchange, he provided his co-conspirators with confidential data including Apple's bid targets for multiple supply tenders, as well as its product roadmap and sales targets.
The indictment lists 23 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and kickbacks, Mercury News said.
The suit and indictment alternatively allege that Devine took in more than $1 million from one company alone, and that he had set up bank accounts in his wife's name to which he transferred more than $500,000 in illegal proceeds.
Andrew Ang, a former employee of Jin Li Mould Manufacturing of Singapore, is also named in the indictment - accused of offering kickbacks and serving as a broker for other companies involved in the scheme.
Other companies accused of paying for the confidential data are Kaedar Electronics of China – in which Asustek owns a stake – and Korea's Cresyn.
Cresyn had entered into an agreement to provide Devine with $6,000 in monthly payments, under a “consulting services agreement,” Apple's lawsuit states.
The lawsuit adds that emails had been found on Devine's personal accounts which instructed the companies to pay no more than $10,000 each time to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
Devine had been earning an annual salary of over $100,000 - plus stock and options - as an Apple employee.