Ericsson risked workers lives by Islamic State
/0 Comments/in Ericsson /by ceadminThe telecoms company Ericsson put contractors’ lives at risk by insisting they continued working in territory controlled by the Islamic State [IS] group in Iraq. This resulted in them being kidnapped by IS militants.
Post Office scandal: Public inquiry to examine wrongful convictions
/0 Comments/in Post Office /by ceadminBetween 2000 and 2014, more than 700 sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a flaw in a computer system Horizon.
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AWG jobs go despite profits boost
/0 Comments/in Anglian Water Group /by ceadminUnited Kingdom water group AWG is back into profit but still plans to cut jobs after its plan to increase charges next year was thwarted by industry regulator Ofwat.
Huntingdon, England based AWG posted profits of £33.9m for the six months to 30 September against losses of £46
Investors sue Deutsche Telekom
/0 Comments/in Deutsche Telekom /by ceadminGermany’s largest telecoms company, Deutsche Telekom, was in the dock on Tuesday as investors claimed it misled them during the internet boom.The judge seemed to agree it had valued its properties inappropriately, but rejected some other parts of the case.
The telecoms giant faces lawsuits from 2,100 shareholders who are demanding a total of 100m euros (£70m; $130m) in damages
Tyre maker spends ¥10m of own money on injured Dolphin
/0 Comments/in Bridgestone /by ceadminA disabled dolphin in Japan is able to swim normally and jump again thanks to an artificial tail fin made by a tyre company.
Fuji, 34, had three-quarters of her tail amputated in 2002 after suffering from a mystery disease.
A veterinarian working with Fuji asked a friend at Bridgestone Corp for help
BMW chief criticises Rover bosses
/0 Comments/in MG Rover /by ceadminBMW’s UK chief has launched a scathing attack on the four businessmen who own MG Rover, branding them “the unacceptable face of capitalism”.
Managing director Jim O’Donnell said it was “disgusting” that MG Rover’s owners paid themselves fat salaries while losses continued at the company.
The “Phoenix four” were sold MG Rover by German owners BMW back in May 2000 for just £10 (14 euros)
NAB profits tumble after scandal
/0 Comments/in National Australia Bank /by ceadminNational Australia Bank, the country’s biggest lender, has seen its profits slump following a trading scandal.
Increased competition and rising costs have also taken their toll, producing what boss John Stewart called a “poor and unacceptable result”.
Profit in the six months through 30 September was 1
BAE denies it is target of probe
/0 Comments/in BAE Systems /by ceadminBAE Systems believes it is not the target of an inquiry by the Serious Fraud Office into false accounting in connection with defence contracts.
In a statement, BAE also said that it may itself have been on the receiving end of illegal activities.
“There is a possibility that BAE Systems may itself have been the victim of a fraud,” the company said
Convictions in Enron fraud trial
/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadminFour former Merrill Lynch employees and an ex-Enron executive have been found guilty of fraudulently inflating the energy firm’s profits.
A jury convicted ex-bankers Daniel Bayly, Robert Furst, William Fuhs and James Brown of fraud and conspiracy.
Ex-Enron finance director Dan Boyle was also found guilty
Merrill Lynch: Convictions in Enron fraud trial
/0 Comments/in Merrill Lynch /by ceadminFour former Merrill Lynch employees and an ex-Enron executive have been found guilty of fraudulently inflating the energy firm’s profits.
A jury convicted ex-bankers Daniel Bayly, Robert Furst, William Fuhs and James Brown of fraud and conspiracy.
Ex-Enron finance director Dan Boyle was also found guilty
Merck shares dive on Vioxx fears
/0 Comments/in Merck /by ceadminShares in US drug maker Merck tumbled nearly 10% on Monday after a press report suggesting the firm may have ignored problems with one of its drugs.
Merck withdrew Vioxx, a top-selling painkiller, on 30 September after evidence linking it to heart problems.
The Wall Street Journal has now published e-mails which, if genuine, suggest Merck may have known about the concerns for years, the paper says
FBI ‘studying Halliburton deals’
/0 Comments/in Halliburton /by ceadminThe controversial award of a key Iraqi oil contract to US giant Halliburton is now being investigated by the FBI, it has been claimed.
A lawyer for a US army official has said the FBI has asked to speak to his client about how the army gave the firm a key deal to restore Iraqi oil.
The FBI claims come as a US government inquiry continues to look at why the deal was not put open to competition
Qwest settles SEC fraud inquiry
/0 Comments/in Qwest Communications /by ceadminUS telecoms giant Qwest Communications has agreed to pay $250m (£136.7m) to settle charges stemming from an inquiry into an alleged securities fraud.
The Denver-based firm did not admit any liability in the case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission
US agrees to Halliburton inquiry
/0 Comments/in Halliburton /by ceadminThe US government will set up an inquiry into the no-bid Iraq contracts given to Halliburton, the company once run by Vice President Dick Cheney.
The move is the latest embarrassment for the firm, which faces losing its Iraq contracts with the US Army.
Halliburton’s Iraq deals had been criticised by the International Advisory Monitoring Board, a UN group monitoring the use of Iraq’s resources
Corruption probe hits US insurers
/0 Comments/in Marsh & McLennan /by ceadminUS insurers are in the spotlight after New York attorney general Elliot Spitzer sued Marsh & McLennan, the world’s largest insurance broker.
Mr Spitzer claims that since the late 1990s, Marsh got illegal payments for steering clients to firms such as Ace and American International Group (AIG).
On Wall Street on Friday, Marsh shares fell 14%, with AIG down 4%
Statoil agrees to pay bribe fine
/0 Comments/in Statoil /by ceadminNorwegian oil and gas giant Statoil has agreed to pay a 20m-kroner ($3m; £1.7m) penalty imposed upon it for alleged bribery in Iran.
The company has however “not admitted or denied the charges”
Prosecutors raid Japan’s UFJ bank
/0 Comments/in UFJ Bank /by ceadminJapanese banking giant UFJ has been raided by prosecutors investigating whether the group hindered an official probe into bad loans.
The raid is thought to have come in response to a complaint filed by Japan’s markets watchdog on Thursday.
The Financial Services Agency also banned UFJ from lending to new clients for six months
Standard Life suspends mortgage pledge
/0 Comments/in Standard Life /by ceadminLife insurer Standard Life has said that it is unable to keep its promise to make up the shortfall in its customers’ endowment mortgages.
Up to 600,000 investors may be affected by the insurer’s move. In 2000, the mutual said it would guarantee its endowment policies provided it met investment targets
Ex-Mitsubishi heads deny cover-up
/0 Comments/in Mitsubishi /by ceadminThe former chief of Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors has denied criminal charges that he conspired to cover up defects which led to a fatal accident.
Former president Katsuhiko Kawasoe and ex-vice president Takashi Usami are on trial in Yokohama, near Tokyo.
Mitsubishi has admitted that it covered up the clutch problem which led to the death of a truck driver in 2002
Fraud trial for Spanish bank boss
/0 Comments/in Santander Central Hispano /by ceadminA judge has ordered Spain’s top banker to stand trial on charges of tax fraud.
Emilio Botin, chairman of Santander Central Hispano, Spain’s largest bank, will be tried by the National Court, said Judge Teresa Palacios.
It is now up to a three-judge panel at the court to set a trial date for Mr Botin, who has been leading the Spanish bank’s recent bid for the UK’s Abbey
Bank of America: Parmalat auditors to stand trial
/0 Comments/in Bank of America /by ceadminTwo of Italian food giant Parmalat’s former auditors are to stand trial over their alleged role in the financial scandal that struck the firm last year.
Former Grant Thornton employees Maurizio Bianchi and Lorenzo Penca are to be prosecuted for market-rigging, a Milan court ruled on Tuesday. The pair are the first to be indicted over the Parmalat scandal
Deloitte & Touche: Parmalat auditors to stand trial
/0 Comments/in Deloitte & Touche /by ceadminTwo of Italian food giant Parmalat’s former auditors are to stand trial over their alleged role in the financial scandal that struck the firm last year.
Former Grant Thornton employees Maurizio Bianchi and Lorenzo Penca are to be prosecuted for market-rigging, a Milan court ruled on Tuesday. The pair are the first to be indicted over the Parmalat scandal
Grant Thornton: Parmalat auditors to stand trial
/0 Comments/in Grant Thornton /by ceadminTwo of Italian food giant Parmalat’s former auditors are to stand trial over their alleged role in the financial scandal that struck the firm last year.
Former Grant Thornton employees Maurizio Bianchi and Lorenzo Penca are to be prosecuted for market-rigging, a Milan court ruled on Tuesday. The pair are the first to be indicted over the Parmalat scandal
Visa International: Credit card giants lose court bid
/0 Comments/in Visa International /by ceadminA ruling that Visa and Mastercard had violated antitrust law has been upheld by the US Supreme Court.
The case stemmed from a 1998 Justice Department lawsuit challenging the credit card issuers’ regulations.
The groups appealed after a court found they were wrong to block banks from issuing credit cards on rival networks such as Discover and American Express
South Korea to scrutinise Citigroup
/0 Comments/in CitiGroup /by ceadminSouth Korea’s markets watchdog has said it is to inspect Citigroup’s local operations, days after regulators censured the bank’s Japanese business.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said the probe would focus mainly on Citigroup’s private banking division. Last week, Japan’s market regulators ordered Citigroup to close its private banking operations there
MasterCard International: Credit card giants lose court bid
/0 Comments/in MasterCard International /by ceadminA ruling that Visa and Mastercard had violated antitrust law has been upheld by the US Supreme Court.
The case stemmed from a 1998 Justice Department lawsuit challenging the credit card issuers’ regulations.
The groups appealed after a court found they were wrong to block banks from issuing credit cards on rival networks such as Discover and American Express
World’s largest insurer under investigation
/0 Comments/in American International /by ceadminThe world’s largest insurer by market value is the target of a criminal investigation by the US Justice Department.
American International (AIG) is accused of helping a banking client commit fraud and keep about $762m (£522m) of bad loans off its balance sheet.
AIG says it did nothing wrong while analysts say the firm’s actions fall into a legal grey area
The whistleblowing bankers who were sent to jail
/0 Comments/in Barclaycard, United Kingdom, United States /by ceadminTwo traders jailed for rigging interest rates were the original whistleblowers of the scandal, and not the bosses that directed them to carry out the illegal actions. Leaked audio recordings reveal Peter Johnson and Colin Bermingham alerted the US central bank to a fraud that the tapes suggest was directed from the top of the financial system.