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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AWB loses powers after Iraq probe
/0 Comments/in AWB /by ceadminAustralia’s wheat exporter AWB is to temporarily lose its monopoly over wheat exports, after a report into bribes paid to Iraq’s former regime.
A judicial inquiry found AWB broke United Nations oil-for-food programme rules by paying Saddam Hussein $222m (£112m) to secure contracts.
The government said AWB would lose its power to veto exports for six months
ABN Amro makes Vietnam settlement
/0 Comments/in ABN Amro /by ceadminDutch bank ABN Amro has paid out $4.5m (£2.2m) to try to settle a dispute with the Vietnamese authorities that have detained four of its staff
Daewoo founder loses fraud appeal
/0 Comments/in Daewoo /by ceadminKim Woo-choong, the founder of Daewoo Group, has lost his appeal against a conviction for embezzlement and fraud, but has had his jail sentence cut.
Kim, was found guilty of charges earlier this year, but will now serve eight-and-a-half years in prison rather than 10.
The 69-year-old also had the amount he must repay reduced from 21 trillion won (£22bn; £11
Washington chip probe eyes Sony
/0 Comments/in Sony /by ceadminUS authorities are investigating Sony’s electronics unit and have asked for information about its static random access memory, or SRAM, business.
It comes two weeks after the Department of Justice launched an inquiry into fellow SRAM chip makers, Samsung and Cypress Semiconductor.
Sony said it would co-operate with the investigation, which it called an industry-wide inquiry
British Gas complaints ‘double’
/0 Comments/in British Gas /by ceadminBritish Gas is not only the UK’s most expensive energy provider, it also provides the worst customer service – according to research from Energywatch.
The consumer watchdog said complaints about British Gas in the six months to September were twice last year’s total, while complaints about its rivals fell.
The top problems were inaccurate bills and the lack of response to enquiries
Mannesmann payouts retrial begins
/0 Comments/in Deutsche Bank /by ceadminThe retrial of Deutsche Bank boss Josef Ackermann and five other former board members of mobile phone firm Mannesmann has begun in a Duesseldorf court.
Last year, the six were cleared over their roles in approving bonuses worth about 60m euros (£41m; $76m) related to Vodafone’s purchase of Mannesmann.
The decision was later overturned, reigniting the corruption trial
Regulators to investigate iSoft
/0 Comments/in iSoft /by ceadminAccountancy regulators are set to investigate troubled software firm iSoft and its auditors.
The Accountancy Investigation and Disciplinary Board (AIDB) is set to investigate iSoft’s directors and its former auditor, RSM Robson Rhodes.
In August, the board said it had uncovered evidence of irregularities affecting its 2004 and 2005 accounts
Total executive in bribery probe
/0 Comments/in Total /by ceadminFrench oil firm Total says its head of exploration and production, Christophe de Margerie, is being investigated over claims that he paid bribes to win bids.
A French judge has also placed former Total executive Bernard de Combret under investigation.
Total said the allegations centred on deals relating to the United Nations oil-for-food programme in Iraq
Probe into BAE arms deals widens
/0 Comments/in BAE Systems /by ceadminThe Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has widened its investigation into corruption allegations at UK defence giant BAE Systems.
Together with Ministry of Defence Police, the SFO raided three business addresses and a home earlier this week.
The SFO said the raids were not related to existing inquiries into BAE defence contracts in Romania and Saudi Arabia
Wal-Mart must pay workers $78m
/0 Comments/in Wal-Mart /by ceadminThe world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has been ordered to pay at least $78m (£42m) in compensation to workers who were forced to work during breaks.
A jury in a Pennsylvania court decided that Wal-Mart broke a state law by refusing to pay staff for the extra work they did.
The class action was brought by about 187,000 staff who worked for Wal-Mart between March 1997 and May 2006
Fastow gets six-year term
/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadminAndrew Fastow, the former Enron finance executive, has been sentenced to six years in prison.
The US energy giant went bankrupt in 2001 with debts of $31.8bn (£18bn)
HP chairman to leave immediately
/0 Comments/in Hewlett Packard /by ceadminHewlett-Packard chairman Patricia Dunn has resigned with immediate effect amid allegations of illegal spying by the US computer firm.
Chief executive Mark Hurd said he had accepted the offer from Ms Dunn, who had earlier indicated she would leave in January over the scandal.
Mr Hurd described methods used by HP to try and identify who was behind boardroom leaks as “very disturbing”
European firms fined over copper cartel
/0 Comments/in IMI /by ceadminFive UK firms are among 30 companies to have been fined a total of 314.7m euros (£211.5m; $399
Microsoft accused over Vista row
/0 Comments/in Microsoft Corporation /by ceadminEuropean Union Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has accused Microsoft of orchestrating a “co-ordinated campaign” to discredit her.
Ms Kroes’ comments have come as her department and the US software giant continue to clash over Microsoft’s forthcoming Vista operating system.
In an open letter to the Financial Times, Ms Kroes insisted she was not running a “vendetta” against the firm
Austrian banker in French arrest
/0 Comments/in BAWAG /by ceadminThe former head of one of Austria’s biggest banks, Bank Fuer Arbeit und Wirtschaft (Bawag), has been arrested in France on fraud charges.
The Austrian Justice Ministry said French authorities had seized Helmut Elsner, Bawag’s ex-general director.
Bawag has been under investigation for lending ex-Refco CEO Phillip Bennett several hundred million dollars before US brokerage filed for bankruptcy
Sweden Blacklists Wal-Mart Stock Over Ethics
/0 Comments/in Wal-Mart /by ceadminThe world’s largest company is suffering yet another blow to its global reputation as Sweden follows Norway in blacklisting Wal-Mart stock from the portfolio of a national pension fund, citing persistent human rights violations.
Sweden blacklists “Mall-Wart” stock
The Swedish Second National Pension Fund has announced that it has sold its SEK 300m (USD 40.7m) stake in Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Mexico
BP facing US oil prices lawsuit
/0 Comments/in BP Amoco /by ceadminBP is facing a fresh lawsuit in the US, alleging it manipulated oil prices by limiting access to important storage facilities in 2003 and 2004.
Oil futures trader Richard Hershey claimed he suffered financial damage as a result of BP’s alleged action, which he said artificially affected prices.
BP said it had not seen the lawsuit and therefore could not comment
Hewlett faces US attorney probe
/0 Comments/in Hewlett Packard /by ceadminCalifornia’s attorney general is investigating methods used by Hewlett Packard to oversee the activities of certain directors after a media leak.
In a bid to discover which employee had leaked “confidential” reports to the press, HP hired undercover consultants.
The firm’s counsel said HP’s methods were “not generally unlawful” but could not say if the techniques used by outside agents complied with the law
Livedoor’s Horie pleads innocence
/0 Comments/in Livedoor /by ceadminTakafumi Horie, former boss of Japanese internet firm Livedoor who quit amid a corporate scandal, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges in court.
Mr Horie denied violating securities laws by falsifying profit figures to boost Livedoor’s share price.
The 33-year old faces a maximum of five years in jail if found guilty
Abta ‘reduces’ travel protection
/0 Comments/in Association of British Travel Agents /by ceadminThe Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) is reducing the protection for customers offered by its code of conduct for travel agents.
From 1 September, compensation will no longer be paid to people who have lost money to a dishonest travel agent.
Abta says this sort of thing normally happens only once a year
State Farm Accused of Cheating Katrina Customers
/0 Comments/in State Farm /by ceadminKerri Rigsby and Cori Rigsby, two independent insurance adjusters who worked exclusively for State Farm for eight years, say they have turned over to the FBI and Mississippi investigators thousands of documents proving that the insurance company systematically cheated victims of Hurricane Katrina. In an interview with ABC News, Rigsby and Rigsby describe what they call “widespread fraud” in State Farm offices in Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi.
The adjusters say that the insurance company brought in a shredding truck to destroy documents; however, State Farm maintains that shredding documents is standard procedure to protect customers’ privacy
Peregrine boss to be extradited to the US
/0 Comments/in Peregrine Systems /by ceadminA former executive at US technology firm Peregrine Systems is facing extradition to the US on fraud charges.
Jeremy Crook, 53, is facing charges in the US accused of defrauding Peregrine shareholders for several years.
Mr Crook had hoped to travel to the US so as to hand himself over to American authorities
Apple admits excessive iPod hours
/0 Comments/in Apple Computers /by ceadminApple Computer has said a report of labour conditions at its iPod plant in China found workers did more than 60 hours a week a third of the time.
Staff making the world’s most popular MP3 player also worked more than six consecutive days 25% of the time.
Apple said the hours were “excessive” and said its supplier would now be enforcing a “normal” 60-hour week
Prosecutors raise Enron boss fine
/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadminUS Federal prosecutors have raised the amount that former Enron boss Jeffrey Skilling should pay for his part in one of the largest fraud scandals ever.
Prosecutors want Skilling to pay the sum demanded by the court both from him, and from his now-deceased former co-defendant, Ken Lay, Enron’s founder.
They want Skilling to hand over $183m (£96m), the combined sum the two were set to pay, not just his $139m sum
Czech fine for German power firm
/0 Comments/in RWE /by ceadminCzech trade watchdogs have fined a unit of German utility RWE a record $17m (£8.9m) for violating competition laws.
Regulators said RWE’s gas operation, Transgas, had discriminated against regional gas distributors by offering better deals to its own subsidiaries
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.