BEIJING, Aug. 17 — Apple Inc. global-supply manager Paul Devine pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted kickbacks from Asian suppliers Monday.

Devine, 37, was charged in a federal grand jury indictment last Wednesday with 23 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and accepting kickbacks. Each count may bring him a 20-year prison sentence.

In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Kane objected to releasing Devine on bail, saying there is a risk he will try to flee.

There are no bond conditions that can assure his appearance for trial, Kane told U.S. Magistrate Judge Howard Lloyd, who set a bail hearing for Aug. 18.

Both Kane and Devine’s lawyer declined to comment after court.

In a separate civil lawsuit, Apple accused Devine of receiving more than 1 million U.S. dollars in payments and bribes over several years from companies that supplied iPhone and iPod accessories.

An employee at Apple since 2005, Devine has used his position at the technology company to obtain confidential data that he shared with Apple suppliers to help them negotiate favorable contracts with the company, Apple’s lawsuit said.

The alleged scheme began to unravel this April, when Apple launched an internal investigation and found a cache of emails between Devine and the suppliers.

Devine used a chain of foreign and domestic bank accounts, along with one front company, to receive payments, according to court papers. 

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sci/2010-08/17/c_13448610.htm