Category: corporate corruption

May 9, 2022. The future of Commerzbank’s business in Russia will depend, among other things, on Russia’s behavior and further sanctions, according to Handelsblatt report. Germany’s Commerzbank is preparing for more businesses to fail in Europe’s biggest economy amid high inflation and economic perils exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The lender expects provisions for loan losses to rise as it works closely with its clients to minimize the impact of commodities’ super cycle on their businesses, Handelsblatt, a German…

May 9, 2022. Brussels has shelved its plans to ban the EU shipping industry from carrying Russian crude as it struggles to push through its latest sanctions package because of anxiety among some member states about the economic impact of the measures. A proposal targeting shipping that was introduced last week has been dropped by the European Commission following hard lobbying from Malta and Greece, which is home to more than half of the EU flag tonnage, said several people…

May 9, 2022. Americans are more likely today than they were a year ago to report being “very” or “moderately worried” about several aspects of their finances, reversing the improvement seen last year. People’s concern has increased in relation to paying monthly bills, maintaining their standard of living, paying rent or mortgage, making minimum payments on credit cards and having enough money for retirement. Americans’ financial anxieties increased in 2020 during the unprecedented economic shutdown that occurred at the start…

May 9, 2022. Facial recognition company Clearview AI has agreed to stop its sales to private companies in the United States as part of a landmark settlement reining in a technology criticized as threatening Americans’ privacy rights. The settlement, filed Monday in federal court in Illinois, marks the most significant court action yet against Clearview AI, a company known for downloading billions of people’s photos from social networks and other websites to build a face-search database sold to law enforcement….

May 7, 2022. The U.S. government wants $33 billion more for the War in Ukraine and is telling its people that Russia is a threat not only to Ukraine, but to Americans. The enormous aid package is twice the size of a provision approved by Congress last month. It would eclipse all the spending by the United States so far on the war. -NYT, Apr. 28, 2022 How is the U.S. government working for the people who elected it? It’s…

May 7, 2022. A new leak of Dubai property data has exposed just how many foreigners have poured their money into apartments and villas there. The data, which dates from 2020, was obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that researches international crime and conflict. It was then shared with Norwegian financial outlet E24, which coordinated an investigation into the real estate. The leak provides the first detailed public overview of…

Bill Hwang secured billions in dollars in financing from leading Wall Street banks with lies that ranged from assurances he could quickly exit his positions to claims he had large holdings of easily traded stocks like Apple and Google, according to US authorities. The banks apparently took Hwang’s words at face value as they entered into leveraged derivatives trades with Hwang’s family office, Archegos Capital Management. These deals enabled him to hide the size of his enormous positions in a…

The premier of the British Virgin Islands was arrested by US agents on drug trafficking and money laundering charges at an airport in Miami on Thursday, sending shockwaves across the UK-administered Caribbean tax haven. The islands’ governor, John Rankin, confirmed in a statement that Drug Enforcement Administration agents had arrested Andrew Fahie, the elected premier of the BVI, and called for calm. “I realise this will be shocking news for people in the territory,” he said. Liz Truss, UK foreign…

Germany’s federal police office, criminal prosecutors and the country’s financial watchdog BaFin raided Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt on Friday, prosecutors said in a statement. The prosecutors said that a search warrant was issued by Frankfurt’s district court, based on the suspicion that unnamed Deutsche Bank employees may have violated anti-money laundering laws. They declined to give further details. Deutsche Bank confirmed the raid and said it was linked to suspicious activity reports issued by the bank that flagged potential…

Vladimir Putin announced last month that if “unfriendly countries” wanted to continue buying Russian natural gas, they would have to pay in rubles starting April 1. It seems not everyone believed he was serious. Would Russia really turn away profit by refusing payment in other currencies? Apparently so. Many media outlets are calling the move a ‘weaponization’ of the gas supply, though clearly Russia may set its own terms and do as it pleases with its own natural resources, even…

From Amy Goodman, Democracy Now – 12 Apr 2022 In Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick, ProPublica investigative reporter J. David McSwane tracks pandemic federal relief funds and finds many contracts to acquire critical supplies were wrapped up in unprecedented fraud schemes that left the U.S. government with subpar and unusable equipment. He says an array of contractors were “trying to take advantage of our national emergency,” and calls the book “a blueprint…

Deutsche Bank AG fired a number of top bankers in New York after a tab run up at a strip club was expensed as legitimate business spending, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Ben Darsney, former Americas head of equity capital markets, Ravi Raghunathan, Brandon Sun and Daniel Gaona were fired after seeking reimbursement for a restaurant visit, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Once the bank discovered the issue, it decided…

Today, the Department of Justice announced a global resolution of its criminal and civil investigations into the opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP (Purdue), and a civil resolution of its civil investigation into individual shareholders from the Sackler family.  The resolutions with Purdue are subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court. “The abuse and diversion of prescription opioids has contributed to a national tragedy of addiction and deaths, in addition to those caused by illicit street opioids,” said Deputy Attorney…