Claim: Novartis Paid $2.5 Million Ransom to Colombia Rebels

Novartis paid $2.5 million to Colombia rebels who had kidnapped two Novartis employees, according to a documentary on French TV.

The issue is a controversial one in Switzerland, where Novartis is based, because the Colombian government had accused a Swiss negotiator of paying the ransom, and then banned the Swiss from participating in negotiations with armed rebels. The new documentary says the negotiator, Jean-Pierre Gontard, merely opened up channels with the FARC rebels and that it was Novartis that paid the money.

Novartis paid a total of $2.5 million in 2001 to the same rebel group that kidnapped Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician, in 2002.

Initially it was believed that the FARC group had received $500,000 from Gontard, but the new doc states the money was five time greater than that.

Novartis declined to comment "legal reasons." The hostages were eventually released.