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.
Search for company, person, or country
Computer Associates ex-CEO pleads guilty
/0 Comments/in Computer Associates /by ceadminComputer Associates (CA) former CEO and head of sales both added their guilty pleas to those of five other former company executives yesterday, admitting fraud, obstructing justice, and perjury.
Former CEO Sanjay Kumar and his head of worldwide sales Stephen Richards presided over a “systemic, company-wide practice of falsely and fraudulently recording and reporting.
Pharmaceutical firm to pay $2.9 million in fraud settlement
/0 Comments/in Dey Incorporated /by ceadminUS Pharmaceutical company Dey Incorporated will pay nearly three (m) million dollars to settle a lawsuit alleging the firm defrauded Missouri’s Medicaid program.
The settlement was filed today in St. Louis Circuit Court by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon
Hyundai chief faces prosecutors
/0 Comments/in Hyundai /by ceadminThe chairman of Hyundai, Chung Mong-koo, is being questioned by South Korean prosecutors about allegations of illegal political lobbying.
As he arrived at the prosecutors’ office in Seoul, Mr Chung again offered an apology to the South Korean people.
The car giant is suspected of creating a slush fund to pay politicians and officials for business favours
Lay ‘devastated’ by Enron failure
/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadminEnron’s collapse caused more “enduring pain” than the death of a loved one, the energy giant’s founder Kenneth Lay has told a US court.
Mr Lay made the claims as he began his defence against charges of fraud and conspiracy over Enron’s collapse.
He also laid the blame for the energy firm’s failure firmly at the feet of former finance chief Andrew Fastow
JPMorgan to pay $425m in IPO lawsuit
/0 Comments/in JP Morgan Chase /by ceadminJPMorgan has agreed to pay $425m to settle a lawsuit alleging it manipulated the market for initial public offerings during the technology boom of the late 1990s, the bank said on Thursday.
The deal is the first in the case and could put pressure on other Wall Street banks to pay billions in aggregate.
The eventual overall settlement is likely to be the largest private recovery for investors burned by Wall Street’s aggressive tactics during the bull market
Merck to pay $32m in Vioxx ruling
/0 Comments/in Merck /by ceadminDrugs firm Merck has been ordered to pay $32m (£18m) in damages after its Vioxx painkiller was found to have contributed to a fatal heart attack.
A Texas jury awarded $25m in punitive damages and $7m in compensatory damages – holding the firm liable after a 71-year-old died after taking the drug.
Merck will appeal and said Leonel Garza had died after years of heart disease
Hyundai apologises amid scandal
/0 Comments/in Hyundai /by ceadminHyundai has made a public apology and pledged to donate assets to charity amid a widening probe into alleged corruption at the Korean car giant.
The firm, which is being investigated by prosecutors over claims of illegal political lobbying, said it would fully co-operate with the inquiry.
Hyundai said its chairman Chung Mong-Koo and his son would set aside assets worth 1 trillion won ($1bn)
Skilling defends Enron share sale
/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadminFormer Enron boss Jeffrey Skilling has defended his sale of $63m in Enron stock before the company collapsed, saying he has “nothing to hide.”
He insisted the sales, which raised $63m (£35.6m) in 2000 and 2001, were proper and he had no idea an internal probe into Enron’s accounts had begun
Tyco to pay $50m to settle SEC fraud charges
/0 Comments/in Tyco /by ceadminTyco International Ltd. will pay the Securities and Exchange Commission a $50 million civil penalty to settle allegations the high-tech conglomerates prior management violated securities laws, cooked the books and overstated financial results by at least $1 billion.
Under the proposed settlement, filed Monday in U
Microsoft loses out again in EU row
/0 Comments/in Microsoft Corporation /by ceadminMicrosoft has lost the latest round of its battle against sanctions in Europe.
A US judge quashed the firm’s demands that rival Novell hand over documents it presented to the European Commission for use in an anti-trust case.
The judge in the case said he had turned down the request as Microsoft was trying to “circumvent and undermine” European law
Skilling slams Enron prosecutors
/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadminFormer Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling accused government prosecutors of trying to “rewrite history” during his fourth day on the witness stand.
He said they were misrepresenting Enron’s business and making “absurd” allegations against him.
“I think they have purposely not looked at facts they should have looked at if they wanted to come to a more balanced and accurate conclusion,” Mr Skilling said to questions from his defence lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli
Enron ‘held no cookie jar fund’
/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadminEnron never used illegal cash reserves to disguise massive trading profits or cover earnings shortfalls, former chief Jeffrey Skilling said on Wednesday.
In his third day on the witness stand at a trial in Houston he testified that there was no “cookie jar” account.
Mr Skilling was denying claims by a former Enron executive that the company earned massive profits from trading power during the California power crisis in 2000 and illegally dumped the money in a “cookie jar” account to cover possible earnings shortfalls in the future
Visa: Card charges ‘push up’ EU prices
/0 Comments/in Visa International /by ceadminCredit and debit card fees are pushing up retail prices by as much as 2.5% in some EU markets, according to the European Commission.
Depending on where customers live in the EU, they could pay up to double in annual fees for a Visa or Mastercard
MasterCard: Card charges ‘push up’ EU prices
/0 Comments/in MasterCard International /by ceadminCredit and debit card fees are pushing up retail prices by as much as 2.5% in some EU markets, according to the European Commission.
Depending on where customers live in the EU, they could pay up to double in annual fees for a Visa or Mastercard
Merck fined $9m in Vioxx lawsuit
/0 Comments/in Merck /by ceadminDrugs firm Merck has been ordered to pay $9m (£5.1m) in damages to a US man after its Vioxx painkiller was found to have contributed to his heart attack.
A New Jersey jury awarded the punitive damages to 77-year old John McDarby, almost a week after it found Merck liable for his heart attack
Skilling denies cover-up at Enron
/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadminFormer Enron chief Jeffrey Skilling has denied encouraging Enron workers to falsify profits at the firm.
In his second day of giving evidence at a trial in Houston he added prosecution witnesses had lied when they said he was part of such a cover-up.
“Did you ever have a single conversation where you sat down with anyone at Enron where you said in so many words, ‘Look we’re not cutting it, we need to break the law?'” Mr Skilling’s defence lawyer asked
Misconduct fine for Deutsche Bank
/0 Comments/in Deutsche Bank /by ceadminThe Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Deutsche Bank £6.3m (9.2m euros; $11
Wal-Mart bank application probed
/0 Comments/in Wal-Mart /by ceadminPublic hearings into Wal-Mart’s proposed application for a US banking licence have begun in Virginia.
Its plan for an in-house bank known as an industrial loan corporation (ILC) is opposed by unions, consumer groups and many state-level banks.
They believe the move will threaten local businesses although Wal-Mart says it has no plans to open branches or offer banking services to consumers
Royal Liver fined for mis-selling
/0 Comments/in Royal Liver /by ceadminInsurer Royal Liver has been fined £550,000 (US$1m) for mis-selling with-profits policies by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
The firm was found to have sold policies to customers who had no “demonstrable” need for them.
As a result of the mis-selling policyholders were exposed to too much investment risk, the FSA added
I’m innocent says ex-Enron chief
/0 Comments/in Enron /by ceadminFormer Enron chief Jeffrey Skilling has said he is “absolutely innocent” of any charges linked to the firm’s collapse.
He made the comments as he began what is viewed by experts as his “make or break” testimony against charges of fraud and conspiracy.
“I’m absolutely innocent,” Mr Skilling said as he began his testimony at the federal court in Houston
Severn Trent provided false information
/0 Comments/in Severn Trent Water /by ceadminWater firm Severn Trent has confessed it has given industry regulator Ofwat more false information.
The company says it had misreported statistics about the way it handles complaints from customers and enquiries about bills.
The admission echoes a similar problem revealed last month at Southern Water, which will lead to a fine for Southern
Split ruling in latest Vioxx case
/0 Comments/in Merck /by ceadminA US court has reached a split verdict in the latest case brought against the manufacturer of the painkiller Vioxx.
A New Jersey jury found that Merck & Co was liable for one user’s subsequent heart attack and ordered the firm to pay $4.5m (£2
Swedish politicians sue Ryanair
/0 Comments/in Ryanair /by ceadminThe Swedish prime minister and former foreign minister are suing budget airline Ryanair over an advertisement that appears to mock them.
The advert for low-cost flights shows an unflattering picture of the two with the slogan “Time to flee the country?”
Goran Persson and Leila Freivalds are seeking 75,000 kronor (£5,600) in damages from the Ireland-based airline.
A spokeswoman for Ryanair in Sweden said the lawsuit was a waste of taxpayers’ money
Second trader gets jail term
/0 Comments/in National Australia Bank /by ceadminA second currency trader has been jailed for his role in a multi-million dollar foreign exchange scandal at National Australia Bank.
Gianni Gray was given a 16-month sentence by the Victorian County Court for what was described as a “calculated and sophisticated fraud”.
The bank lost 252m Australian dollars (£105m; $181m) three years ago after rogue trades by four members of staff
Norton settles price fixing claim
/0 Comments/in Norton Healthcare /by ceadminHealthcare giant Norton has become the third company to agree a multi-million pound settlement with the British National Health Service (NHS) to end a claim for alleged price fixing.
Under the terms of its agreement, US-based Norton does not accept any liability but will pay the British NHS a total of USD$24m (GBP£13.5m) compensation
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.