Author: CorruptionLedger

Publicly filed court documents, including a 16-count indictment unsealed today in Brooklyn, charge five Russian nationals – including a suspected Federal Security Service (FSB) officer – and two U.S. nationals with conspiracy and other charges related to a global procurement and money laundering scheme on behalf of the Russian government in which the defendants allegedly conspired to obtain military-grade and dual-use technologies from U.S. companies for Russia’s defense sector, and to smuggle sniper rifle ammunition, in violation of new U.S….

The investigation and enforcement of potential sanctions violations by crypto exchanges is an area of focus in the US at present.  The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) recent settlement with Kraken, a global virtual currency exchange, is the most recent OFAC case demonstrating the risks for virtual currency platforms that process transactions without comprehensive sanctions controls.  Kraken agreed to pay USD 362,158.70 to settle its potential civil liability for alleged breaches of the Iranian…

States must apply effective arms-control measures to prevent the diversion of weapons supplied to Ukraine, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as some Council members defended their decision to continue providing military support to Kyiv while others detailed the danger of doing so. Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, said that the transfer of materiel to Ukraine by several States since the Russian Federation’s invasion on 24 February is a matter of public record.  Information from…

A federal jury in the Northern District of Illinois convicted a former trader at JPMorgan Chase and Credit Suisse today of fraud in connection with a spoofing scheme in the gold and silver futures markets. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Christopher Jordan, 51, of Mountainside, New Jersey, was an executive director and trader on JPMorgan’s precious metals desk in New York from 2006 to 2009, and on Credit Suisse’s precious metals desk in New York in…

FRANFORT, Ky. — A Florida company, Modern Therapy, LLC, was sentenced on Friday to pay a $2.5 million fine by U.S. District Judge Gregory VanTatenhove for the unlawful distribution of anabolic steroids. Modern Therapy operated out of Hallandale Beach, Florida.  According to its plea agreement, it marketed anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, and related products to customers over the Internet.  Anabolic steroids are a Schedule III controlled substance and may only be issued pursuant to a valid prescription for a…

On November 28, 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced a settlement agreement with Payward, Inc., known as Kraken (“Kraken”), a United States-based virtual currency exchange. Kraken agreed to pay $362,158.70 to resolve its potential civil liability for 826 apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“Apparent Violations”). The settlement amount is significantly less than the statutory maximum civil monetary penalty of $272,228,964, reflecting OFAC’s determination that the Apparent Violations were non-egregious and voluntarily self-disclosed, thereby…

A seven-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Andrii Derkach, 55, of Ukraine, with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Acts (IEEPA), bank fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and four counts of money laundering in connection with the purchase and maintenance of two condominiums in Beverly Hills, California. Derkach allegedly concealed his interest in the transactions and violated sanctions imposed in 2020. Derkach remains at large. The charges and forfeiture action announced today include…

BOSTON – A former co-owner of the now-defunct New England Compounding Center (NECC) was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with conspiring to defraud the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Gregory Conigliaro, 57, of Southborough, Mass. was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to one year in prison and one year of supervised release. In December 2018, Conigliaro was convicted following a 41-day jury trial of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United…

“The military continues to hold proceedings in secretive courts in violation of basic principles of fair trial and contrary to core judicial guarantees of independence and impartiality”, Volker Türk added, calling for the suspension of all executions and a return to a moratorium on death penalty. Dealing out death  On Wednesday, a military court sentenced at least seven university students to death. “Military courts have consistently failed to uphold any degree of transparency contrary to the most basic due process…

ABB Ltd. (ABB), a Swiss-based global technology company listed on the New York Stock Exchange with core businesses focused on electrification, automation, motion, and robotics has agreed to pay more than $315 million to resolve an investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) stemming from the bribery of a high-ranking official at South Africa’s state-owned energy company. The Department of Justice’s resolution is coordinated with prosecutorial authorities in South Africa and Switzerland, as well as the U.S….

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday aided 14 locations in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with the alleged manipulation of the Accounts Assistant recruitment examination conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB). The agency booked 20 people, including members of the JKSSB. Those accused in the case are Dr Karnail Singh, , former BSF Paloura Frontier Headquarters Medical Officer, former ASI in the J&K Police Ashok Kumar, teacher Roshan Bral, MeritTrac Services Private Limited, Bengaluru,…

On November 15, 2022, the Italian Supreme Court held that an Italian court or competent data protection authority has jurisdiction to issue a global delisting order. A delisting order requires a search engine to remove certain search results about individuals if the data subject’s privacy interests prevail over the general right to expression and information, and the economic interest of the search engine. The case was brought by an Italian individual, who requested a worldwide delisting order, concerning all versions…

French financial prosecutors say a Paris court has approved an agreement with Airbus that will see the plane maker pay a 15.8-million-euro ($16.3 million) fine A Paris court on Wednesday approved an agreement under which Airbus will pay a 15.8-million-euro ($16.3 million) fine to end a corruption probe focusing on sales to Libya and Kazakhstan over a decade ago, French financial prosecutors said. The agreement comes as an extension to a previous deal in 2020 that led Airbus to pay…

The FTC has temporarily shut down a credit card debt relief scheme operated by Sean Austin, John Steven Huffman, and John Preston Thompson and their affiliated companies that allegedly took millions from people by falsely promising to eliminate or substantially reduce their credit card debt: ACRO SERVICES LLC, a limited liability company, also d/b/a Capital Compliance Solutions, AMERICAN CONSUMER RIGHTS ORGANIZATION, a corporation, also d/b/a Tristar Consumer Law Organization FIRST CALL PROCESSING LLC, a limited liability company MUSIC CITY VENTURES,…

Charges were unsealed today against eight individuals for conspiring to defraud the Georgia Department of Labor of tens of millions of dollars in federal funds intended for unemployment benefits. Seven defendants have been indicted and one defendant has already pleaded guilty for her role in the scheme. According to court documents, Tyshion Nautese Hicks, 30, of Vienna, Georgia; Shatara Hubbard, 34, of Warner Robins, Georgia; Torella Wynn, 30, of Cordele, Georgia; Macovian Doston, 29, of Vienna; Kenya Whitehead, 35, of…

A former agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was charged in a superseding indictment, unsealed today, in the District of Arizona with three counts: a civil rights violation for sexually assaulting and kidnapping a minor victim, kidnapping a minor victim, and misleading state investigators. According to the superseding indictment, on April 25, 2022, Aaron Mitchell, 27, was employed as a CBP agent. The alleged minor victim, referred to in the indictment as M.V., was 15-years-old when the defendant…