Police said yesterday that bribes were given to seven companies, including local offices of McDonald's, McKinsey & Company and Whirlpool, by four computer network outfits in return for equipment orders.

So far, 944,400 yuan in illicit cash has been recovered, the Shanghai General Team of Economic Investigation said yesterday. Formal charges have not been announced.

Police said they were tipped to a bribery network on May 31. An anonymous caller claimed that Wang Jun, the general manager of a local computer company, had bribed Shen Tong, a computer department employee in McKinsey Shanghai office, in return for a contract to install a computer network, police said.

About a week later, investigators took Wang and one of his senior assistants, Wu Ren, in for interrogation. The pair confessed they gave a total 450,000 yuan to Shen and another McKinsey official, Wang Yiqun, at the end of 2005, police said.

Further investigation found the two McKinsey employees collected 2.08 million yuan in bribes from 2003 to 2006 from four computer network companies, including Wang Jun's, according to authorities.

The discovery led police to three senior officials suspected of taking bribes at other companies.

Investigators said they also believe that Wang Jun gave a total 1.3 million yuan to 13 people at other companies, including department managers and information technology directors and engineers, in exchange for network contracts.

Police did not provide information on any of the other cases. The companies named could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Investigators said they're involved in a major anti-bribery campaign in an effort to rein in economic crimes.

They encourage people to report suspicious activities by calling 2402-5625 or sending an e-mail to gaj04@shanghai.gov.cn.

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