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AIG boss gave wife $2bn in shares

The ex-boss of US insurance giant AIG, Maurice Greenberg, gave his wife more than $2bn (£1.2bn) of his shares in the company days before stepping down.

The stock transfer was recorded in a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Cosmetic firm in accounts scandal

Cosmetics giant Kanebo has admitted overstating profits in what could turn out to be Japan’s largest accounting fraud involving a non-financial firm.

The company said its net profits for the four years to March 2003 had been inflated by $1.37bn (£723m) and it had recorded a loss over the period

Lord Black facing criminal probe

US federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into newspaper tycoon Conrad Black, it has been confirmed.

Lord Black, his former deputy David Radler and their company Hollinger Inc are already facing a civil lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

They are accused of fraudulently taking $85m (£46m) from newspaper group Hollinger International

EU warns on Microsoft behaviour

Microsoft has not done enough to comply with sanctions imposed for breaking European anti-trust rules, the European Commission (EC) has said.

The software giant was censured in 2004 for misusing its monopoly position in desktop PCs to extend its reach into other areas.

The firm agreed to a 497m euro ($660m, £345m) fine and to make its software work better with competitors’ products

Wal-Mart to pay immigrants fine

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is to pay $11m (£5.73m) to the US government after an investigation into the use of illegal immigrants.

The workers were employed as janitors and cleaners by subcontractors to work in Wal-Mart stores

Glaxo shares dip on factory probe

GlaxoSmithKline shares have fallen almost 2% amid fears a US inquiry into manufacturing quality could be widened and may possibly lead to a big fine.

On 4 March the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized batches of two drugs from the Puerto Rico plant.

Regulators said its diabetes treatment Avandamet and anti-depressant Paxil CR tablets failed to meet safety standards – but did not pose a health risk

Halliburton in $108m Iraq probe

Halliburton, the energy firm once run by US Vice-President Dick Cheney, is facing fresh questions over its work for the US Defense Department in Iraq.

A Defense Contract Audit Agency report, released late on Monday, criticised Halliburton unit KBR for failing to provide clear records of its costs.

The probe is examining more than $108m (£56m) of a contract extension which was worth $875m

Former Qwest chief accused by SEC

The former chief executive and six former officials at US telecoms giant Qwest Communications have been accused of deceiving investors.

Former CEO Joseph Nacchio, who denies any wrongdoing, is among those named in the civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It said Qwest inflated its revenue by $3bn (£1

Ebbers pleads Worldcom ignorance

The former head of Worldcom has told a court that he knew too little about the phone firm’s accounts to be aware of the fraud that drove it to bankruptcy.

Bernie Ebbers’ lawyers argued that their client was a sharp entrepreneur but no accountant.

For that reason, they said, he was not responsible for the $11bn (£6bn) fraud which led to the firm’s 2002 collapse

Vioxx drug ban hits Merck profits

Profits at US pharmaceutical giant Merck fell 21%, after the firm was forced to withdraw its Vioxx painkiller last year.

Sales of the drug were halted amid safety fears on 30 September, causing a dip in fourth-quarter profits to $1.1bn (£0