Category: Corruption

NEW YORK – The US dollar is poised for its worst year since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic as Wall Street bets the Federal Reserve is set to lower interest-rates after safely reining in prices. After being whipsawed by false starts calling for the end of the Fed’s rate hiking regime, a Bloomberg gauge of the greenback is down…

NEW YORK – Terraform Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will head to trial in January, with Jump Trading swept up in the mix, after a judge ruled that the SEC’s fraud case against Terraform must be tried by a jury. US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff ruled in favour of the regulator on Dec 28, agreeing…

Five years since the legalization of cannabis in Canada, the industry finds itself grappling with significant challenges. Despite making economic contributions on par with the dairy sector and marking its presence on the global stage, primarily in the medical cannabis export market, this promising industry is hindered by financial strains, murky advocacy, and unyielding regulations. Excise Tax: A Thorn in…

Record-Breaking Cash Withdrawals in the UK Reflect Enduring Relevance of Physical Currency December 22, 2023, saw a record-breaking spree in the United Kingdom when more than £62 million was withdrawn from Post Offices, surpassing the previous year’s high of £51.5 million. This surge was attributed to last-minute Christmas shopping and preparation for cash gifts. The magnified reliance on cash during…

SINGAPORE – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a $3.9 million civil penalty on Credit Suisse for its failure to prevent or detect misconduct by relationship managers (RMs) in its Singapore branch. Credit Suisse paid the penalty to the regulator immediately after it was imposed, and as part of the settlement, also separately compensated its affected clients, said…

A cardinal who oversaw the management of Vatican funds from 2011 to 2018 has been convicted of multiple counts of embezzlement and fraud in a landmark corruption case. Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, once one of the most powerful figures in the Holy See, was sentenced by the Vatican’s criminal court to five years and six months in jail on Saturday…

Latvia’s former central bank governor was sentenced to six years in prison for bribery on Wednesday after a trial over the most prominent of a series of recent financial scandals to hit the Baltic country. Ilmārs Rimšēvičs, head of the Latvian central bank from 2001 until 2019, was found guilty by the Riga district court of accepting bribes and a…

Canada Issues Travel Advisory on U.S. Trips Over Abortion, LGBTQ Rights Concerns In a notable move, Canada has issued a travel advisory for its citizens, bringing attention to concerns over state-level policies affecting abortion and LGBTQ rights in the United States. This advisory emerged after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a ruling that has…

US Targets Foreign Banks with Sanctions to Curb Russia’s War Effort In a decisive stroke designed to undermine Russia’s military capabilities, US President Joe Biden has signed a far-reaching executive order targeting the financial sinews aiding Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine. The order, enacted on December 22, 2023, sanctions foreign banks that allegedly support Russia’s defense sector, underscoring the US…

Student Unrest and Political Tensions Surge in Bangladesh Amidst the scenic beauty of Bangladesh’s hill tracts, a darker narrative unfolds as the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) students face a brutal attack that has shaken the core of student activism in the country. In a recent spate of student unrest, the UPDF, advocating for democratic rights, found themselves targeted in…

Obama-appointed DC district judge Beryl Howell sidestepped the First Amendment by finding Rudy Giuliani guilty of defaming two Georgia election workers before trial for allegedly “not complying with his discovery obligations” and now she’s ordering him to pay $148 million in damages immediately because he’s “unlikely” to have the jury verdict overturned on appeal. Just as we saw with the…

SEOUL – South Korea’s financial watchdog has recommended imposing a fine of at least 10 billion won (S$10.24 million) each on HSBC Holdings and BNP Paribas for so-called naked short selling, which is considered illegal in the country, according to two people familiar with the matter.  The nation’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) made the recommendation to the Securities and Futures…

France’s Sapin II Law was created in 2016 to address corporate corruption and implement antibribery measures. The legislation took effect in 2017, marking a significant shift in the country’s regulatory compliance landscape. The law, which tracks closely with similar laws in the US, UK, and other EU countries, requires large companies [1] to implement a robust compliance program, including anti-corruption…

Saudi Diplomatic Exchanges and Technological Developments Amidst Political Shifts in North Africa In a recent diplomatic exchange, the Crown Prince of Morocco, Prince Hassan bin Mohammed, received a verbal message from the Saudi Arabian King and Crown Prince, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The message reiterated the robust fraternal relations between the two nations, discussing…

Verdicts are expected Saturday for a cardinal and nine other defendants in the most complicated financial trial in the Vatican’s modern history: a case featuring a Hollywood-worthy cast of characters, unseemly revelations about the Holy See and questions about Pope Francis’s own role in the deals. After 2½ years of hearings, here’s a brief snapshot of the trial and its…

  WASHINGTON – Temu, a popular low-cost online marketplace with ties to China, accused its rival Shein of using “mafia-style” methods to tamp down competition in a lawsuit filed on Dec 13, the latest volley in a heated turf war between two of the fastest-growing fashion retailers in the United States. In the filing, WhaleCo, which operates in the US…