Autonomy chief accused of lying about touting for a takeover bid, The Times
30 September 2011
Britain’s most successful technology entrepreneur was accused yesterday of telling "whoppers” in a bitter war of words with one of the giants of Silicon Valley. Mike Lynch, founder and chief executive of Autonomy, was named personally in two damaging statements released by the American Oracle software company, which said that he had touted his business as being up for sale at a meeting with the Oracle president in April — four months before it was sold to Hewlett-Packard for £7.1 billion.
Looking for leadership from the top, The Times
30 September 2011
While private sector chief executives have gained the trust of their employees during the recession, those in the public sector are losing it. The Index of Leadership Trust, due to be published on Tuesday, says: "While CEO trust ratings are up overall, there is little to shout about in the public sector, where the news for CEOs is grim. Public sector CEOs are in trouble. Of the three sectors, they are the least trusted. And the margin is growing.”
Middle East firms need UK Bribery Act compliance programmes, conference hears, TrustLaw
29 September 2011
Experts have warned that firms operating in the Middle East must implement robust anti-bribery programmes to offset the risks posed by the UK Bribery Act 2010 and other global anti-corruption initiatives. Speaking at a recent anti-corruption conference in Dubai, international legal and compliance experts discussed the UK Act and the effect it will have on regional businesses. In particular, speakers focused on the requirement to prevent bribery by associated parties and the need to adopt risk assessment programmes, enhanced due diligence measures and anti-bribery contractual obligations for counterparties.
Reebok fined over advert, The Times
29 September 2011
Trainers that promised a quick way to a toned bottom have been shown to carry flabby evidence that they work, leading to a multimillion-dollar penalty for Reebok. The footwear manufacturer has been fined $25 million (£16 million)over the advertising of its EasyTone shoes and flipflops, which claim to improve the appearance of legs and bottoms. The US Federal Trade Commission said that there was not enough evidence for the claim.
Essar man ‘paid off rebels’, The Times
29 September 2011
An Essar Steel manager has been arrested and charged with sedition after allegedly paying protection money to Maoist rebels in central India. D Varma was arrested in Kirandul, where Essar operates an iron ore plant in the mineral-rich state of Chhattisgarh. He appeared in court this week charged also with waging war against the state and is being held in custody.
Kallakis’ £60m fraud trial begins, The Financial Times
29 September 2011
Achilleas Kallakis, a property and shipping magnate, went on trial with another defendant on Thursday, charged with 21 counts of conspiracy to defraud Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Scotland in an alleged scam that lost the banks a total of £60m.
Outsize Severance Continues for Executives, Even After Failed Tenures, The New York Times
29 September 2011
A hallmark of the gilded era of just a few short years ago, the eye-popping severance package continues to thrive in spite of the measures put in place in the wake of the financial crisis to crack down on excessive pay.
OFT warns of unfair doorstep sales practices in mobility aids sector, OFT Press Release
29 September 2011
The OFT has today issued a warning about traders that use unfair sales practices to sell mobility aids such as scooters, stairlifts and adjustable beds to the elderly and disabled in their home. Last year, Consumer Direct, the OFT-managed advice service, received 4,500 calls from people complaining or asking for advice about mobility aids.
SEC probes banks over mortgage loans, The Financial Times
29 September 2011
The US regulator is examining whether RBS and Credit Suisse misled shareholders regarding loan repurchase requests.
Little change for ENRC board, The Financial Times
29 September 2011
Felix Vulis has been restored as chief executive of the mining company following an internal review.
UBS chairman comes under attack, The Financial Times
28 September 2011
The alleged rogue trading scandal at UBS and Saturday’s departure of Oswald Grübel have cast a harsh light on the Swiss bank’s strategy, focusing attention on the board of directors under chairman Kaspar Villiger. Under Swiss corporate law, strategy and top appointments are the responsibility of the board, with executive management implementing its wishes.
A call for consumers to blow the whistle, The Financial Times
28 September 2011
With endorsements and gimmicks this marketer’s rallying cry to hold deceitful brands to account appears unconvincing, says Henry Mance.
SEC files civil charges against NIR founder, The Financial Times
28 September 2011
Corey Ribotsky, founder of New York hedge fund NIR Group, allegedly hid mounting losses and stole more than $1m from investors to fund a lavish lifestyle featuring expensive cars and jewellery, according to a lawsuit filed by US regulators.
ABI warns on executive pay, The Financial Times
28 September 2011
The Association of British Insurers for the first time explicitly outlines investor concerns about the size of company directors' pay packages.
Anonymous accuses Chaoda of fraud, The Financial Times
28 September 2011
Activists allege one of China’s biggest vegetable producers had falsified financial statements and swindled investors.
NZ: Jailed Nathans directors appeal sentences, National Business Review
28 September 2011
The two former Nathans Finance directors jailed last month have appealed their sentences. Lawyers for Kenneth Roger Moses and Mervyn Ian Doolan told the Court of Appeal in Wellington yesterday that the sentences given to their clients by Justice Paul Heath at the Auckland High Court in September were not warranted.
Barclays tops complaints about UK banks, The Times
28 September 2011
Barclays has overtaken Lloyds TSB as the most complained about bank in Britain, according to figures from the Financial Services Authority. Barclays was the subject of 251,563 complaints in the first half of the year, with 53 per cent of closed cases upheld in customers’ favour, the regulator’s figures showed.
NZ: Bed firm fined for misleading customers
28 September 2011
A bed company which touted the health benefits of expensive "sleep systems" to the elderly has been fined $69,935 for misleading customers about their right to cancel contracts. Mattress and bedding company Wenatex pleaded guilty to 34 charges of breaching the Fair Trading Act and Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act laid by the Commerce Commission at the District Court in Auckland in July. It also had to make refunds of $1285 and to pay costs of $4518.
Motorola Solutions Responds To Reports Of Bribery Probe, Wall Street Journal
27 September 2011
Motorola Solutions Inc., responding to news reports that U.S. authorities are investigating the company for foreign bribery, said on Tuesday it enforces a strong code of conduct and has the ethics and compliance programs to back it up. "When appropriate, the company makes voluntarty disclosures to the U.S. government and takes corrective action,” a spokesman said, adding that any company that does frequent business with the government undergoes audits and investigations periodically.
Phone-hacking: NoW reporter Neville Thurlbeck takes publisher to tribunal, The Guardian
27 September 2011
A News of the World reporter at the heart of the phone-hacking scandal is taking the defunct tabloid's publishers to an employment tribunal, claiming he was a whistleblower. Neville Thurlbeck, the paper's former chief reporter, is claiming that he was unfairly dismissed by Rupert Murdoch's News Interrnational.
Marks and Spencer hit with £1m asbestos fine, The Telegraph
27 September 2011
Marks and Spencer has been hit with a £1m fine for failing to protect customers, staff and workers from potential exposure to asbestos during refurbishment at one of its stores.
Mars in ethical switch for Maltesers, The Financial Times
27 September 2011
Mars is batting aside concerns over rising input prices to add an additional $1.4m a year to the cost of making Maltesers by switching to ethically sourced cocoa. From next year, UK Maltesers will all be Fairtrade certified, helping farmers receive a better price for their produce. The move follows Mars’s pledge two years ago that all cocoa used in the $10bn of chocolate products it sells each year will be sustainably sourced by 2020. At end-2010 the proportion stood at 5 per cent.
NZ: Vodafone faces four more false advertising charges, National Business Review
27 September 2011
Vodafone has apologised to customers after being found guilty of a second misleading advertising offence. But the Commerce Commission has confirmed to NBR that four more court dates are on the way, all relating to allegedly misleading promotions.
NZ: FMA mulls response to Huljich guilty plea, National Business Review
27 September 2011
The Financial Markets Authority is mulling its response after Peter Huljich pleaded guilty to misleading investors in his KiwiSaver scheme. Mr Huljich this morning pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court to one charge brought by the FMA under the Securities Act, and his company Huljich Wealth Management pleaded guilty to two charges under the same act. The judge deferred a decision on convicting until sentencing.
Michel Barnier could force break-up of auditors, The Telegraph
27 September 2011
Radical new measures set to curb the power of a tainted audit industry could force the break-up of major firms, destroying hundreds of millions of pounds in profits for the so-called Big Four.
Standard & Poor’s faces charges over toxic mortgages, The Times
27 September 2011
The credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s faces possible civil charges for approving a package of mortgages that later turned toxic in the run-up to the financial crisis, its parent company McGraw-Hill said yesterday.
Calpers and Calstrs launch diversity drive, The Financial Times
27 September 2011
Big pension funds seek to shake up US boardrooms by funding the creation of an electronic storage bank of potential applicants.
Freddie under fire over bad loan procedures, The Financial Times
27 September 2011
Audit criticises mortgage financier's repurchase methods, saying they are probably saddling taxpayers with billions of dollars in losses.
Banker to stand trial on F1 bribe charges, The Financial Times
26 September 2011
A German banker is set to stand trial next month over charges that he received $44m in bribes from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and a family trust in connection with the sale of a stake in the racing series. A Munich court confirmed on Monday that it would hear the case against Gerhard Gribkowsky, the former chief risk officer at BayernLB, the Munich-based Landesbank.
UBS chief quits after clash over strategy, The Financial Times
26 September 2011
Bank’s board gave unanimous support for Oswald Grübel to remain but refused to back his plans to overhaul strategy and corporate governance.
ABI to press groups on board performance, The Financial Times
25 September 2011
Shareholders will this week issue their first set of guidelines on how companies can beef up board performance repair the flaws in boardroom composition and succession planning that shareholders say can destabilise companies and create market uncertainty. The Association of British Insurers is urging companies to step up the numbers of female directors on boards, and come up with clear lomg-term strategies for evaluating directors and recruiting key executives.
UBS will foot the bill as City regulator calls in auditors, The Times
24 September 2011
KPMG has been hired by the City regulator to investigate the alleged $2.3 billion rogue trading scandal at UBS. The auditing and consulting firm will also study UBS’s general risk controls in what could be a protracted inquiry. The Financial Services Authority, which appointed KPMG, could fine or take enforcement action against UBS if Switzerland’s largest bank is found to have sub-standard systems.
SEC charges ex-Goldman Sachs trader, The Financial Times
22 September 2011
Spencer Mindlin allegedly tipped off his father about the bank’s hedging trades pegged to an exchange traded fund.
David Prosser: Lord Davies's generosity on women on the board is about to be abused, The Independent
22 September 2011
Let us be charitable and say they are leaving it late. UKSIF, the sustainable investment group, revealed yesterday that it has written to all of the FTSE 350 companies which have yet to explain how they will respond to Lord Davies's report in February on increasing the number of women on the board, the deadline for which is fast approaching. So how many stamps did UKSIF have to buy? More than 250 – and 60-odd of the letters went to blue-chip FTSE 100 companies.
EACB: ETF transparency essential after UBS, GFS News
22 September 2011
Complex exchange-traded funds should be
subjected to greater levels of transparency, especially in light of the
rogue trader scandal from UBS, the European Association of Cooperative
Banks has argued. Synthetic ETFs and structured ETFs should be forced to adhere to higher
levels of transparency when being marketed and sold, the EACB said in a
letter to the European Securities and Markets Authority, sent on
Thursday.
Vodafone accused of tax avoidance in India, The Times
21 September 2011
Vodafone has been accused of creating an "artificial tax avoidance scheme” in its $11.2 billion (£7 billion) takeover of Hutchison Essar in 2007. Speaking at the start of the mobile giant’s Supreme Court battle in New Delhi over $2.5 billion of disputed taxes, India’s new solicitor-general accused Vodafone of concealing the facts in the case. It is being carefully monitored by international investors amid concerns that a ruling could damage cross-border M&A deals in India.
NZ: Huljich set to plead guilty to KiwiSaver charges, New Zealand Herald
21 September 2011
The Financial Markets Authority case against Huljich Wealth Management
and its director Peter Huljich is nearing an end, with Huljich expected
to plead guilty in the Auckland District Court next week.Huljich
was due in court today to enter a plea, but was excused after an
agreement was reached with the FMA to amend one charge and withdraw
seven others against him.
Ouster of Hewlett-Packard C.E.O. Is Expected, The New York Times
21 September 2011
Hewlett-Packard, the technology giant that has stumbled through repeated embarrassments, was preparing on Wednesday to fire its chief executive, less than one year after naming him to the post, according to several people with knowledge of the board’s actions. The leading candidate to replace H.P.’s chief, Léo Apotheker, was Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, who was sought for her ability to run a large technology company, said the people, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized by the board to speak publicly.
Voting to Hire a Chief Without Meeting Him, The New York Times
21 September 2011
The mystery isn’t why Hewlett-Packard is likely to part ways with its chief executive, Léo Apotheker, after just a year in the job. It’s why he was hired in the first place. The answer, say many involved in the process, lies squarely with the troubled Hewlett board. "It has got to be the worst board in the history of business,” Tom Perkins, a former H.P. director and a Silicon Valley legend, told me. Interviews with several current and former directors and people close to them involved in the search that resulted in the hiring of Mr. Apotheker reveal a board that, while composed of many accomplished individuals, as a group was rife with animosities, suspicion, distrust, personal ambitions and jockeying for power that rendered it nearly dysfunctional.
Rare whistleblower case set to become first in Japan’s Supreme Court, Washington Post with Bloomberg
21 September 2011
Masaharu Hamada is among a handful of whistleblowers in Japan, a nation that has long advocated corporate loyalty and subjected outspoken employees to bizarre punishments such as assigning them closet-sized offices. The 50-year-old salesman for camera and precision-equipment maker Olympus Corp. is about to become rarer still. His case alleging he was demoted in reprisal for merely relaying a supplier’s complaints is headed to the Supreme Court. It would be the first whistleblower case to reach the nation’s highest court.
Full Tilt Poker directors face US Ponzi probe, The Financial Times
21 September 2011
Gaming site charged with wrongly taking $440m from player accounts in an amended lawsuit the US attorney has filed in Manhattan.
Singapore fund hits at UBS ‘lapses’, The Financial Times
21 September 2011
GIC, the Singapore wealth fund that is the bank’s biggest shareholder, urges ‘firm action to restore confidence’ in the wake of trading scandal.
NZ: Females boost returns - study, National Business Review
21 September 2011
Increasing the number of women on a board could up a company’s financial performance. University of Waikato Institute for Business Research director Stuart Locke says an analysis of ten years of NZX companies’ data indicated the link. New rules proposed by the New Zealand Exchange will require all publicly listed companies to declare exactly who sits on their board; stating how many women and minorities they have as directors and in senior roles.
NZ: Wellington CBD investment snapped up for altruistic reasons, National Business Review
21 September 2011
A Wellington property developer did not factor risk into the equation when he recently bought the former James Smiths building in the capital’s CBD.
The prime-retail positioned building is now in the hands of Mark Dunajtschik at a $14 million price tag, with a further $1 million needed into refurbishments. The real reason he bought the building, he said, was to help out former owner David Blackmore who he had known for 30 years and the investment opportunity was secondary.
Are business graduates failing ethics test? Business Daily Africa
21 September 2011
When key figures in some of Kenya’s most infamous cases of corporate fraud and corruption are professionals and local business schools’ alumni, it is not surprising that people question their training. Corporate misconduct and unethical practices leave doubt about the kind of principles and management practices the country’s business schools are teaching.
S.E.C. Hid Its Lawyer’s Madoff Ties, The New York Times
20 September 2011
After Bernard L. Madoff’s giant Ponzi scheme was revealed, the Securities and Exchange Commission went to great lengths to make sure that none of its employees working on the case posed a conflict of interest, barring anyone who had accepted gifts or attended a Madoff wedding. But as a new report made clear on Tuesday, one top official received a pass: David M. Becker, the S.E.C.’s general counsel, who went on to recommend how the scheme’s victims would be compensated, despite his family’s $2 million inheritance from a Madoff account.
NZ: IRD targets corporate tax avoidance
20 September 2011
An expert banking witness in a high profile tax avoidance case has likened financial instruments used by New Zealand companies and their Australian parent companies to those which contributed to the global financial crisis. Dr Moorad Choudhry, who is head of business treasury at Royal Bank of Scotland's global banking and markets division, is giving evidence in the High Court at Auckland today as a witness for the Inland Revenue Department.
NZ: Finance directors dispute Crown charges, National Business Review
19 September 2011
Two directors of failed finance company Capital + Merchant Finance have applied to have some charges against them dropped on the basis they didn’t sign certain offer documents. However, the Crown argues that is irrelevant because they later signed documents extending and amending the prospectus – implying the offer documents were true.
NZ:Demand for women's pay data, New Zealand Herald
19 September 2011
The Labour Party wants to make employers release details about pay levels of women staff compared to men under its new policy to redress pay inequity. Companies could also be made to report on the number of women and the level at which they are employed in a bid to increase the numbers of women in leadership positions.
UBS says trader hid loss with fake deals, The Financial Times
19 September 2011
Kweku Adoboli used fictitious counter-trades to cover loss-making positions, the bank alleges, the same tactic used by a trader at SocGen in 2008.
Microsoft paid out 'more than £1 million' to female executive, The Telegraph
19 September 2011
Microsoft paid out "more than £1 million” to silence a female executive who was unfairly overlooked to become managing director of its business in Britain.
Credit Suisse to pay £130m tax dodge fine, The Times
19 September 2011
Credit Suisse will pay €150 million (£130 million) to the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia to settle an investigation into tax evasion. Prosecutors in Duesseldorf had accused employees of the Swiss bank of helping German clients to avoid paying taxes by opening secret accounts for them abroad.
Vince Cable calls time on excessive boardroom pay and bonuses, The Guardian
18 September 2011
Vince Cable will set out plans on Monday to give workers and company shareholders rights to call time on spiralling boardroom pay as part of a Liberal Democrat-led drive to champion "responsible capitalism" and retain wavering public support for the coalition's austerity measures. The business secretary will also announce that all directors of firms listed on the London Stock Exchange will be required to set out in a comprehensible form the total value of their salary, pensions, share schemes and bonuses.
Would-be CEOs feel heat of FSA scrutiny, The Financial Times
18 September 2011
UK financial groups seeking a chief executive now have to worry about more than just offering a pay package that satisfies their favoured candidate. They also have to ensure that the boss-in-waiting does not join a long list of candidates who have backed out of the hiring process amid tougher scrutiny of boardroom leadership by the City watchdog.
Banks fail to prioritise laundering risk, The Financial Times
18 September 2011
Bank chiefs are failing to prioritise anti-money laundering checks at their peril, according to a new survey published by KPMG. The issue is dropping down the list of executives’ priorities, even as regulators worldwide are stepping up their enforcement of banks’ procedures, KPMG found after interviewing nearly 200 officials at institutions around the world.
BAE corruption investigation is reopened in South Africa, The Times
17 September 2011
Just as BAE Systems appeared to have finally put to rest the allegations of corruption that have dogged it for years, a new investigation into the defence giants dealings has begun in South Africa. Jacob Zuma, the President, surprised many of his countrymen by announcing that he would reopen an investigation into an arms deal struck with BAE and other European defence companies in 1999.
Former chief’s payoff could put DTZ in hot water, The Times
17 September 2011
DTZ could face regulatory action from the UK Listing Authority after failing properly to inform shareholders of the terms of a £700,000 cash payoff to its former chief executive, Paul Idzik. The beleaguered property group said yesterday that it had inaccurately stated in its annual report that Mr Idzik was entitled to the payment only if he left after a takeover of the company.
Nokia hits at India low wage claims, The Financial Times
17 September 2011
The Finnish telecoms company denies allegations by a human rights group that it pays below the living wage at its biggest factory in the country.
Scandal scuppers UBS bid to rebuild reputation, The Financial Times
16 September 2011
Swiss group’s efforts to bolster its investment banking business were already faltering before the news of Mr Adoboli’s arrest.
Tate attendant wins unfair dismissal case, The Independent
16 September 2011
The Tate unfairly dismissed a gallery attendant because it did not properly investigate her allegations of bullying by managers, an employment tribunal ruled yesterday.
With millions invested in risk control, how could this happen?, The Independent
16 September 2011
Kweku Adoboli is set to take his place in a rogue's gallery of traders who, whether by accident or design, have cost their companies dear. Although it remains unclear exactly how he allegedly lost UBS $2bn, what is apparent is quite how hard it is to cover up a trade once something has gone wrong.
NZ: SCF fraud inquiry time extended
16 September 2011
The Serious Fraud Office investigation into South Canterbury Finance, one of the biggest it has carried out, looks likely to last longer than a year. The investigation began last October when the SFO began looking into several related party transactions involving SCF that it suspected had not been disclosed to investors, and later the Government.
Luxury brands must wake up to ethical and environmental responsibilities, The Guardian
16 September 2011
Many of the world's biggest and most elite fashion houses pay virtually no regard to corporate ethics and have yet to take even the first steps on reporting on the social and environmental impact of their operations.
Hanlong Mining on hold as China sets up probe, The Australian
15 September 2011
CHINESE investor Hanlong Mining's $1.3 billion takeover bid for Sundance Resources is likely to be reassessed by Beijing's chief economic policy-making body after three of the foreign group's Sydney-based executives were stood down amid a probe into alleged insider trading. Sources confirmed yesterday that the negotiations between Hanlong and Sundance would continue. However, it is understood China's National Development and Reform Commission, which vets all Chinese foreign investment, is aware of the allegations and this could sway any decision on whether rival entities will be permitted to sweeten the offer for Sundance of 50c a share, which is 12c above yesterday's closing price.
E&Y faces probe on Anglo Irish Bank audit, The Financial Times
15 September 2011
Irish accounting regulator will hold a hearing to examine Ernst & Young’s handing of the Anglo Irish audit, which is being challenged in three areas.
BP faulted in US oil spill report, The Financial Times
15 September 2011
Final report into last year’s accident accuses UK oil group of ‘multiple decisions’ that were in violation of its own internal best-practice guidelines.
DuPont wins $919m in suit over Kevlar secrets, The Financial Times
15 September 2011
US civil jury finds Korean company stole information relating to its production of aramid fibre, the material used in bulletproof vests, by hiring former workers.
Probe into Ebay over Craigslist secrets, The Financial Times
15 September 2011
Claims that executives of the online auction site misused their positions on the Craigslist board to obtain proprietary information.
SEC pushes Citi toward $200m settlement, The Financial Times
15 September 2011
Negotiations are continuing to resolve an investigation into the sale of a mortgage-related security in 2007.
Adoboli held over $2bn UBS ‘rogue trade’, The Financial Times
15 September 2011
Kweku Adoboli, a 31-year old trader in UBS’s London-based exchange traded funds business, was arrested on Thursday in connection with a $2bn loss due to unauthorised trading at the Swiss group’s investment bank.The Swiss group declined to comment, other than saying the loss had been caused by "a trader” and the matter was under investigation. It warned that the discovery could prompt it to report an overall loss for the group when third-quarter figures are revealed in October.
NZ: SFO lays 110 charges in loan fraud case, National Business Review
14 September 2011
The Serious Fraud Office has laid a combined total of 110 charges against seven people alleged to have participated in a loan fraud involving Dunedin-based vehicle finance company, MTF. All seven of the accused appeared in the Auckland District Court today.
NZ: SFO and FMA lay charges in Belgrave Finance investigation, National Business Review
14 September 2011
Former Belgrave Finance director, Stephen Charles Smith (43), and an associate, Raymond Tasman Schofield (49), have appeared in the Auckland District Court to face charges arising from the collapse of Belgrave Finance. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) last week laid 60 charges against three persons, alleging the defendants misrepresented to investors how their investments in Belgrave Finance would be used, and subsequently used those funds in an unauthorised manner. The third person has not been named and will appear at a later date.
Feds: BofA improperly fired employee who exposed Countrywide fraud, LA Times
14 September 2011
Bank of America Corp. wrongly fired an internal investigator who exposed "widespread and pervasive wire, mail and bank fraud" at Countrywide Financial Corp., according to the U.S. Labor Department. Finding that the employee was protected by whistle-blower law, the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered BofA to reinstate and pay the employee $930,000, including back wages, interest, compensatory damages and attorney fees.
NZ: Grain supplier ordered to pay $4.6m
14 September 2011
Waikato grain company J Swap has been ordered to pay $4.6 million in
damages after being found guilty of "dishonest" behaviour. The stoush between the family-owned company and Tauranga firm Hunter
Grain involved claims of conspiracy, secret overseas meetings and
attempts to hijack $80m worth of animal feed business.
Hospital Exec Convicted Of Bribing New York Lawmakers, Wall Street Journal
13 September 2011
David Rosen, the former head of MediSys, a high-profile New York City medical-care company, was found guilty Monday of bribery. He was convicted of bribing three state lawmakers — two assemblymen and a state senator — with hundreds of thousands of dollars from his medical-care empire in exchange for what prosecutors say was help in winning state contracts, as well as other perks from Albany.
Insider trading probe centres on Hanlong trio, The Financial Times
13 September 2011
China’s Hanlong Mining has stripped three Sydney-based executives of their responsibilities after Australia’s securities regulator launched an investigation into suspected insider trading involving the trio. The potentially embarrassing legal case threatens to derail Hanlong’s plans to expand further into Australia’s resources sector and could strain relations between Canberra and Beijing.
James Murdoch under pressure as News Corp shareholders start lawsuit, The Telegraph
13 September 2011
The shareholders – Amalgamated Bank, New Orleans Employees' Retirement System and the Central Laborers Pension Fund – had already filed a claim in Delaware Chancery Court against News Corp's board for allowing "rampant nepotism" at the company. However, on Tuesday they lodged a much wider-ranging suit with allegations of "computer hacking, privacy breaches and extreme anti-competitive behaviour" in America, which they claimed "foreshadowed" allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World.
The Bribery Act - Creating an anti-bribery culture, FSN
13 September 2011
How best to comply with the 2011 Bribery Act? Following the old medical adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, surely the best response that companies and managers can make is to make certain that they comply fully with the law, now and in the future. In other words: don’t give or take bribes. But as Morgen Witzel, FSN writer and honorary senior fellow at the University of Exeter Business School, companies need to build a strong anti-bribery culture as well.
NZ: FMA to target the big boys, National Business Review
13 September 2011
The Financial Markets Authority has published its enforcement policy, which shows where its funds are likely to be spent. Chairman Simon Allen says publication of the policy marks a milestone
within FMA’s first six months as New Zealand’s fully-fledged financial
services law enforcement body.
FSA warns firms over anti-corruption rules, The Financial Times Advisor
12 September 2011
The Financial Services Authority has issued a warning to financial firms
following the introduction of the UK Bribery Act, saying that companies
also need to continue to comply with separate anti-corruption rules
from the regulator.
Executive bonus rise sparks call for vigilance, The Financial Times
12 September 2011
Sharp increase for FTSE directors despite the good work of some companies shows more work is needed to link performance to pay, says Deloitte.
NHS trust faces £2m legal bill after battle with whistleblower, The Independent
11 September 2011
The unfair sacking of a popular NHS chief executive who angered bosses by refusing to close local cancer services has cost the taxpayer an estimated £2m. John Watkinson, former chief executive of Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, expressed his "relief" last night after the trust that sacked him admitted it would no longer fight the case.
NZ:The dark side of corporate hospitality, New Zealand Listener
10 September 2011
Businesses that fail to stop their staff sliding down a slippery ethical slope could find themselves in serious trouble. Questions of corporate morality are increasingly finding their way onto the boardroom agendas of global businesses, says Philippa Foster Back, director of the UK’s Institute of Business Ethics.
Activist investor puts Yahoo board in the line of fire, The Financial Times
09 September 2011
Activist investor Daniel Loeb has bought a significant stake in Yahoo and launched a campaign against the board following its dismissal of Carol Bartz, chief executive.
Serious Fraud Office attacked after hedge fund case is dropped, The Times
09 September 2011
The Serious Fraud Office came under fire yesterday after it dropped a two-year investigation into the collapse of Weavering Capital, a $639 million London hedge fund. Weavering’s liquidators said that the decision not to prosecute Magnus Peterson, the Mayfair fund’s founder, called into question the SFO’s ability to handle complex frauds.
FSA fines Swift £600,000 for excessive arrears, The Financial Times
09 September 2011
Essex-based mortgage lender will pay up to £2.3m to customers who were overcharged a series of fees, says the Financial Services Authority.
Watchdog investigates airlines over hidden fees, The Financial Times
09 September 2011
The Office of Fair Trading is looking at flight operators who levy 'excessive' charges for debit and credit card use, with Ryanair a particular offender.
Rise in car-cover costs prompts OFT investigation, The Independent
09 September 2011
The Office of Fair Trading has launched an investigation into car insurance costs, which climbed as much as 40 per cent in 12 months. The government watchdog has asked insurers to justify the huge increases. In particular, it says it will examine why insurance premiums in Northern Ireland are significantly higher than in the rest of the UK. It is also looking into the role of price-comparison sites.
BP's anti-corruption drive in Russia examines 365 alleged breaches, The Guardian
09 September 2011
BP's difficulties in Russia
intensified on Friday when its TNK-BP Russian joint venture confirmed
that 365 cases of alleged corruption or other violations of company
rules had been identified by security staff.
Gender equality elusive at top; Women at the helm of financial firms are losing their jobs more often than men.
08 September 2011
Even before Sallie Krawcheck's ouster from a high-ranking job at Bank of America, things weren't looking all that good for women climbing the ranks on Wall Street. The financial industry, long known for its boys-club environment, has only a small fraction of women as top executives. And that small cadre has been thinning out in recent years, with the most recent example Krawcheck's departure as BofA's president of global wealth management. Her departure is part of a broader trend in the financial industry in recent years: Female employees are losing their jobs at a faster clip than men.
Vallares sounds out FSA on $2.1bn Genel deal, The Financial Times
08 September 2011
The chairman of Tony Hayward's new investment vehicle says he has talked to the UK regulator to alleviate any corporate governance concerns.
NZ: Super-fraud’ to reach record levels, National Business Review
08 September 2011
The value of ‘super-fraud’ charges is expected to exceed $300 million by the end of 2011. This more than doubles 2010 value of $143.9 million, according to the latest KPMG Fraud Barometer. Super-fraud cases are defined as those where the value is more than $3 million. KPMG New Zealand head of forensics Stephen Bell says in July alone over $200 million in super-fraud charges were laid by the SFO in the High Courts.
NZ: SFO confirms CFX Trade Safe investigation, National Business Review
08 September 2011
Concerns false documents were used to hide losses from investors has led the Serious Fraud Office to launch an investigation into foreign exchange trader, CFX Trade Safe Limited. The SFO was alerted to the case by a former CFX Trade Safe employee.
Libor inquiry looks at criminal angle, The Financial Times
07 September 2011
The US investigation into alleged manipulation of interbank lending rates is focusing on possible violations of a commodities law that has previously been used to send financial executives to prison.
Blunt E-Mail Raises Issues Over Firing at Yahoo, The New York Times
07 September 2011
"I’ve just been fired.” With those four words, Yahoo’s chief executive, Carol A. Bartz, did something Tuesday afternoon that dismissed managers almost never do: She told the truth. In the upper echelons of corporate America, executives are forever leaving to pursue urgent opportunities, develop important new ventures or, that old standby, spend more time with their long-neglected families. Hardly anyone ever admits to being sacked. Even in cases where the executive has all but been bodily ejected from his executive suite — Rick Wagoner of prebankruptcy General Motors or Tony Hayward of post-oil-spill BP — the most they say is that they have been asked to step aside.
NZ:Investors lose millions but SFO unable to act, New Zealand Herald
07 September 2011
More than 30 New Zealanders are among a group of investors who allegedly lost almost $7 million by investing through a Hamilton man now living in Panama.
Quotas won't resolve the battle of the sexes, The Telegraph
07 September 2011
Too few recognise the social progress Britain has made in recent decades. The gender pay gap has halved since the Seventies; the percentage of women on boards has doubled in the last decade; and half the top posts in the civil service are filled by women. But worryingly, this month, the deadline expires for British FTSE companies to sign up to a commitment to have 25 per cent women in the boardroom by 2015. If too few comply, then the veiled threat of mandatory gender quotas looms. Far from advancing the meritocratic tide, such quotas would be regressive and counter-productive.
Alstom in talks with SFO over resolution of bribery claims, The Times
07 September 2011
A senior figure from Alstom has held talks with the head of the Serious Fraud Office in a move that insiders said could lead to the resolution of allegations that it bribed foreign officials. The Times understands that a representative of the French transport and rail giant met Richard Alderman, the director of the SFO, in the summer after an approach by Alstom.
NZ: Rowley-Skinner company in receivership
07 September 2011
The Wellington accountancy firm at the centre of multimillion-dollar fraud allegations against its owners has been placed in receivership and put up for sale. On Friday, Deloitte was appointed receiver of TPS Accounting – known until recently as Tax Planning Services – just eight weeks after its directors lost in the Supreme Court a nine-month battle to prevent their names being published.
U.S. judge rejects an HSBC settlement in Madoff case, Reuters
07 September 2011
A Manhattan federal judge rejected HSBC Holdings Plc's proposed $62.5 million settlement with investors in an Irish fund that lost money in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. HSBC said it had acted as a custodian to the fund, and provided administration and other services. It was sued in January 2009, one month after Madoff's fraud was uncovered.
Former iSoft auditors to face accountancy board, The Telegraph
06 September 2011
Former auditors of iSoft, the software group that hit substantial accounting problems in 2006, are to face a hearing at the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB).
SFO turns to tax records in bribery hunt, The Times
06 September 2011
Companies suspected of paying bribes to win work overseas may be forced to hand over their tax records to the Serious Fraud Office, the director of the agency warned yesterday. In a move that will stoke concerns among businesses about the expanding reach of regulators in pursuit of corporate corruption, Richard Alderman said that the SFO had begun asking companies it is investigating to supply documents relating to their tax calculations in the hope that they might yield evidence of bribes.
Big firms face growing pressure to audit their auditors, The Times
05 September 2011
Only six of Britain’s one hundred biggest companies have changed auditors as a result of a competitive tender process in the past decade, according to research that underscores concerns about a lack of competition in the audit market. It comes after the Financial Reporting Council, the accounting regulator, said last week that it would make listed companies put their audits up for tender every ten years to allay fears that the leading accountancy firms have become too cosy with the clients whose accounts they are hired to scrutinise.
NI executives to be challenged on gagging clauses, The Independent
05 September 2011
MPs are to ask former News of the World executives this week whether phone-hacking victims have been offered substantially increased cash settlements from Rupert Murdoch's News International in return for signing gagging agreements.
SFO hunts for evidence over securities sales to UK, The Financial Times
05 September 2011
Deals involving Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs among half-a-dozen the fraud office puts under scrutiny.
UK directors' earnings doubled in 10 years, The Financial Times
05 September 2011
Bonuses have grown by 187% – while companies' market value has stagnated, according to a report that fuels controversy over executive pay.
City ‘needs women’ to fight macho culture, The Financial Times
05 September 2011
The City’s overtly macho culture is a breeding ground for the sort of unrestrained male aggression and risk-taking that helped to bring about the financial crisis, and it needs to be countered by hiring more women for senior roles, say two Tory MPs. In Masters of Nothing, Matthew Hancock, George Osborne’s former adviser, and Nadhim Zahawi, former chief executive of the polling agency YouGov, write that there is an "urgent need” to get more women into City boardrooms and call on the government to introduce legislation to force change if its target of 30 per cent female representation on boards is not met quickly.
Indian tycoon held in illegal mining swoop, The Financial Times
05 September 2011
Indian authorities have arrested a top mining baron as part of a crackdown on illegal iron ore extraction, in the latest move to stamp out political corruption in the country. Janardhan Reddy, a former government minister in the southern state of Karnataka, was arrested on Monday in Bellary, a city at the heart of India’s booming iron ore industry.
Do teddies have a place in the boardroom? The Financial Times
04 September 2011
Lucy Kellway comments on recent research at Harvard Business School which looked into the ethics of boardroom behaviour in the presence of childrens toys.
FSA to make an example of alleged fee skimmer, The Times
03 September 2011
The Financial Services Authority is likely to impose one of its most stringent penalties to date on Ravi Sinha, the former European head of the private equity firm JC Flowers, who led its bid in 2008 for Northern Rock. The Times has learnt that the City watchdog has concluded its investigation into allegations that Mr Sinha misappropriated £1.3 million by skimming fees from a company owned by JC Flowers.
Directors to leave the board at News Corp, The Times
03 September 2011
News Corporation set out to refresh its board yesterday, following criticism of its corporate governance, appointing one of America’s best-known investors to its board and bidding farewell to two of its longest-serving directors. News Corp, owner of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun, said Ken Cowley and Thomas Perkins would step down after the annual meeting in Los Angeles next month.
Banks sued over mortgage deals, The Financial Times
03 September 2011
A US regulator sued 17 international financial groups, ranging from Bank of America to Barclays, alleging they mis-sold almost $200bn of mortgage-backed securities and demanding compensation for billions of dollars of losses. The Federal Housing Finance Agency filed the suits in New York state Supreme Court on Friday accusing the banks of making "materially false” statements about the quality of mortgages that were bundled into securities and sold, before plunging in value in the financial crisis.
NZ: FMA welcomes jail-time for Nathan's directors, National Business Review
02 September 2011
The Financial Markets Authority is applauding the sentences handed out to three directors of failed Nathan's Finance. FMA chief executive Sean Hughes says the results - with prison terms imposed to two out of three directors - show the Courts regard the inclusion of untrue statements in financial offers to be a serious offence.
NZ: Second woman for F&P board, New Zeland Herald
02 September 2011
The New Zealand Shareholders' Association has welcomed whiteware maker Fisher & Paykel Appliances' indication it may soon appoint a second woman to its board. The move comes as pressure is placed on publicly listed companies to appoint more females and minorities to senior management and boardroom roles.
FTSE 100 companies give 'two fingers' to women-on-boards target, The Telegraph
02 September 2011
The majority of FTSE 100 companies have given "two fingers" to the Government's voluntary target to get more women on boards, by failing to disclose their plans for boosting the number of female directors, a new report has warned.
TripAdvisor faces probe over ‘10 million fake hotel reviews’, The Times
02 September 2011
The travel review website TripAdvisor is being investigated by the advertising watchdog over allegations that its claims to provide trustworthy and genuine reviews from real travellers are false. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has opened a formal investigation into the company after receiving a complaint that fake and misleading reviews have reached "epidemic levels”.
Mounties Raid SNC-Lavalin In Corruption Probe, Wall Street Journal
02 September 2011
Canadian authorities raided the offices of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. outside Toronto on Thursday in connection with a corruption probe into the engineering giant’s work on a World Bank-funded bridge project in Bangladesh.
SEC Halts Fraud Conducted by Purported Life Settlement Company, SEC Press Release
02 September 2011
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has obtained an emergency court order to halt an alleged $4.5 million investment scheme by a Los Angeles-based company that purports to broker life settlements.
NZ:Zespri denies kiwifruit seized in China
01 September 2011
Kiwifruit export marketer Zespri has denied Chinese reports that New Zealand kiwifruit has been seized by Shanghai Customs following the arrest of one of its import agents for smuggling. A Zespri spokesman said no kiwifruit had been impounded, despite Chinese media reports that 30,000 tonnes of fruit had been seized.
Goldman Sachs faces fine over 'misconduct' at former unit, The Telegraph
01 September 2011
The Federal Reserve Board said it was launching a formal enforcement action against Goldman for the way Litton Loan Servicing, a mortgage servicing company once owned by the bank, had handled customer foreclosures. The regulator said "monetary penalities" would be appropriate and Goldman was liable for any civil claims against the conduct of Litton, which has since been sold to Florida-based Ocwen Financial Corporation.
Diamondback fund to pay $1m to SEC, The Financial Times
01 September 2011
Diamondback Capital Management, a Connecticut hedge fund, agreed to pay $1m to the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve an insider trading case involving a former employee. Anthony Scolaro, a former portfolio manager, had previously pleaded guilty to insider trading. He agreed to pay about $200,000 and accept an industry bar to settle civil charges with the SEC.
Financial watchdogs to issue 'health warnings', The Independent
01 September 2011
Financial watchdogs are set to start issuing health warnings about financial products within weeks in an attempt to draw a line under a succession of scandals which resulted in billions of pounds in compensation being paid to aggrieved consumers.
NZ: Prepaid phone card company fined $100,000 for misleading posters, NZCC
01 September 2011
A company that misled consumers about what it would really cost them when they used their prepaid phone cards has been fined $100,000 in the Auckland District Court for breaches of the Fair Trading Act. Tel.Pacific New Zealand Ltd pleaded guilty to 33 charges of breaching the Fair Trading Act through its marketing of five prepaid phone cards throughout New Zealand from November 2008 to March 2010. The cards were Hello Asia Pacific, Joy, Island Talk, Friends, and Hello India.
Centro six escape with slap on wrist, Sydney Morning Herald
01 September 2011
The six non-executive directors of Centro who failed to spot a mistake in the property group's 2006-07 financial statements have avoided any penalty other than court declarations after a judge said to punish them more would be unfair and inappropriate. The decision handed down in the Federal Court yesterday earned rebuke from shareholder organisations, which believe the breaches by Centro directors and two former executives warranted more severe sanction.
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