Apple manager charged with taking kickbacks from a supplier

On the basis of the investigation conducted jointly by the FBI and the IRS, Paul Shin Devine, a mid-level manager at Apple, was arrested on Friday accused of accepting over $1 million in kickbacks from the potential Apple suppliers in Asia.

In a federal indictment unsealed and a separate civil suit, Devine, Apple's global supply manager, and Andrew Ang of Singapore, were named in a 23-count federal grand jury indictment for kickbacks, money laundering, and wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Devine - who is currently in custody in California - and Ang solicited payments from suppliers in exchange for secret information that would help the companies in winning contracts from Apple.

Devine, scheduled for an appearance in federal court on Monday afternoon, asked the companies to bid for the supply of iPod and iPad components; and the several small payments that he received from these companies were directed to a number of US and offshore bank accounts held by him.