Category: Crime
EY worker’s death spotlights India’s unprotected white-collar labour
Authorities in two Indian states that are driving its economic growth are drafting tighter workplace rules and inspections to protect white collar employees following the death of a young executive at global consultancy Ernst & Young (EY), which her family blamed on overwork. India’s decades-old labour laws are largely focused on blue-collar workers, leaving others vulnerable to workplace abuse such…
UnitedHealth CEO Shooting: Media and police release manhunt pictures of different person
The video, seen below, shows a shooter assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, outside a Manhattan hotel. The manhunt for the shooter is still underway 3 days later. News outlets have been irresponsibly posting images of a suspect wearing similar clothing, but who can be seen to be wearing a different jacket and carrying a dark backpack. The shooter’s backpack is…
News groups sue Idaho prison leader for increased witness access to lethal injection executions
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Associated Press and two other news organizations are suing Idaho’s top prison official for increased access to lethal injection executions, saying the state is unconstitutionally hiding the actual administration of the deadly drugs from public view. The AP, The Idaho Statesman and East Idaho News filed the lawsuit against Idaho Department of Correction Director Josh…
Former Allianz fund manager spared prison time over $7 billion fraud
NEW YORK – A former Allianz fund manager was spared prison time on Friday over his role in a meltdown of private investment funds sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic that caused an estimated $7 billion of investor losses. Gregoire Tournant, 57, of Basalt, Colorado, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of investment adviser fraud. He agreed to give up…
Hunt for the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO heads into third day as new clues emerge
As the investigation into a masked gunman who stalked and killed the head of one of the largest U.S. health insurers moved into its third day Friday, possible leads emerged about his travel before the shooting and a message scrawled on ammunition found at the crime scene. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he…
A secretive Silicon Valley tech giant set up shop in Canada. But what does it do? (CBC 2017)
This piece was first published by CBC in 2017. It’s one of the most valuable and secretive technology companies in Silicon Valley: Palantir Technologies, a developer of data mining software used by spies, banks and some of the biggest companies in the world. The company was co-founded in 2004 by billionaire Peter Thiel — previously the co-founder of PayPal — and now an…
How A ‘Deviant’ Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut (Forbes 2013)
Since rumors began to spread that a startup called Palantir helped to kill Osama bin Laden, Alex Karp hasn’t had much time to himself. On one sun-baked July morning in Silicon Valley Palantir’s lean 45-year-old chief executive, with a top-heavy mop of frazzled hair, hikes the grassy hills around Stanford University’s massive satellite antennae known as the Dish, a favorite…
Jackson, Mississippi, Officials Aren’t the First to Stay in Office Amid Corruption Charges
Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens II walked briskly toward a crowd of TV cameras and reporters on the steps of the federal courthouse in Jackson last week to denounce what he called a “horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation” and an “assassination attempt on my character.” Owens, the top elected law enforcement official for Mississippi’s largest county…
California voters reject measure that would have banned forced prison labor
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters have rejected a measure on the November ballot that would have amended the state constitution to ban forced prison labor. The constitution already prohibits so-called involuntary servitude, but an exception allows it to be used as a punishment for crime. That exemption became a target of criminal justice advocates concerned that prisoners are often…
ICC confirms probe into alleged sexual misconduct by war crimes prosecutor Karim Khan
AMSTERDAM – The International Criminal Court’s governing body will launch an external probe into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct, it said in a statement on Monday, confirming a previous report by Reuters. “An external investigation is … being pursued in order to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process”, the statement said, also calling upon…
China’s Huawei Technologies seeks dismissal of US criminal charges
NEW YORK – Huawei Technologies asked a US judge to dismiss much of a federal indictment accusing the Chinese telecommunications company of trying to steal technology secrets from US rivals and misleading banks about its business in Iran. In a Friday night filing in federal court in Brooklyn, Huawei said there was no proof of a conspiracy, calling the charge…
Reuters Exclusive-ICC ruling body to conduct investigation into alleged misconduct by war crimes prosecutor – sources
(Reuters) – The International Criminal Court’s governing body will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Khan is called on in an internal document circulated to member states to temporarily step down from his role at the world’s permanent war crimes court, based in…
S’pore-based Malaysian military contractor ‘Fat Leonard’ who bribed US Navy officers given 15 years’ jail
LOS ANGELES – Leonard Francis, the Malaysian military contractor known as “Fat Leonard”, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Nov 5 for his role in the US Navy’s worst-ever corruption scandal. Francis, 60, was also ordered to pay US$20 million (S$26.3 million) in restitution to the US Navy by a federal judge in San Diego and to forfeit…
Zelensky signs decree to liquidate medical examination commissions amid corruption scandal
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Oct. 22 issued a decree to liquidate medical examination commissions for determining the severity of disabilities by Dec. 31. The decree was released after a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), which on Oct. 22 discussed violations at medical examination commissions and the fraudulent acquisition of disability status by officials through corruption schemes. Obtaining disability status…
Raytheon Company to Pay Over $950M in Connection with Defective Pricing, Foreign Bribery, and Export Control Schemes
Raytheon Company (Raytheon) — a subsidiary of Arlington, Virginia-based defense contractor RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation) — will pay over $950 million to resolve the Justice Department’s investigations into: (i) a major government fraud scheme involving defective pricing on certain government contracts and (ii) violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its…
India says ‘No Coincidence’ that Canada’s Accusations come as Trudeau set to testify at Chinese Interference Inquiry
New Delhi says Canada’s accusations against Indian diplomats and their expulsion is a politically driven move to show action amid criticism Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned a blind eye to foreign interference. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs says the move is strategically timed to coincide with Trudeau’s appearance at the Foreign Interference Commission, which has been mainly focused…