Category: Financial Crime

What Google’s antitrust trial means for search

If government regulators prevail against Google in the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter century, it’s likely to unleash drastic changes that will undermine the dominance of a search engine that defines the internet for billions of people. As the 10-week trial probing Google’s business practices nears its midway point, it’s still too early to tell if U.S. District…

The Epic v. Google witness list: Andy Rubin, Sundar Pichai, and more to testify

It’s been almost 10 months since a trial date was set in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, and with all of the other big tech cases going on right now, including Google’s other antitrust proceedings, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about this one. But believe it or not, the trial will start in less than a month, on November 6th,…

What’s the basis of the Republicans’ Joe Biden impeachment inquiry?

Sept 28 (Reuters) – Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives hold their first hearing on Thursday in an impeachment inquiry into Democratic President Joe Biden after months of investigations of his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. They have not found any evidence of misconduct by Biden himself. The White House says Biden has done nothing wrong and Republicans have no…

Biden impeachment inquiry opens with focus on son’s business dealings

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Republicans leading an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden detailed foreign payments to members of his family in their first hearing on Thursday, but did not provide evidence that the Democratic president had personally benefited. The initial impeachment hearing by the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee served as a review of evidence that Republicans have…

UBS, Credit Suisse face growing probe over alleged Russian sanctions evasion

The US Department of Justice has stepped up its probe into Credit Suisse Group and UBS Group over suspected compliance failures that allowed Russian clients to evade sanctions, according to people familiar with the situation. What began as a series of subpoenas sent to a range of banks early this year has developed into a full-scale investigation focusing on Credit…

Is US Heading for New Crisis 15 Years After the 2008 Credit Crunch?

The US could be heading for economic turmoil again 15 years after the 2008 financial crisis rocked the country, three experts have said. Global finance giant Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, more than 150 years after its founding. It was the first major US victim of the sub-prime mortgage collapse. The first warning of the Credit…

Are banks cashing in at the expense of competition?

The trend of banks increasing their net interest margins and channeling their efforts into loan refinancing has raised concerns that it will reduce competition in the lending market. This shift could have significant implications for borrowers and the broader economy, according to Peter James (pictured above), director of non-bank lender Mortgage Ezy. “Banks are notorious for fattening their net interest…

The CIA’s Plan to Kill Julian Assange

Crypto exchange Binance faces legal probe in France

PARIS – French prosecutors announced on Friday that they had opened an investigation into Binance, adding to the legal woes of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The probe, led by the Paris prosecutor’s office, will look into allegations that the French arm of Binance traded illegally in digital assets as well as a separate charge of “aggravated money laundering”, a…

Two founders behind Russian crypto mixer Tornado Cash charged by U.S. federal courts

The two founders behind Tornado Cash, a Russian cryptocurrency mixing service, have been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, according to a statement on Wednesday. Roman Storm and Roman Semenov were officially charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business,…

Former NY mayor Rudy Giuliani finds lawyer in Georgia, surrenders to jail

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani found himself a local lawyer in time to turn himself in to Georgia authorities on Wednesday, two days before the deadline imposed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The once-respected federal prosecutor-turned-Trump lackey arrived at the Fulton County Jail to be photographed, fingerprinted, and booked on a raft of felony charges over…

Israeli pharma company Teva to pay $225M for cholesterol drug price-fixing; Glenmark to pay a $30 million criminal penalty

WASHINGTON (AP) — The generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed Monday to pay $225 million to settle price-fixing charges related to sales of a major cholesterol-lowering drug. The U.S. Department of Justice said the agreement also requires Teva to divest its business making and selling the drug, pravastatin, a generic version of the brand-name medicine Pravachol. Another generic drug maker,…

FCA request data from banks on account closures

This follows our announcement of a data exercise to investigate account closures.  Firms have until 25 August 2023 to provide information on: the number of customers that have been terminated the number of customers suspended the number of customers denied services the reasons for all of the above  the number of complaints banks have received on this issue This will…

Fraud Scheme: Christopher A. Slaga, Q4 Capital, LLC, J4 Capital Advisors LLC, and Hayden F. Greene

SEC Charges Recidivist and Others in Offering Fraud Scheme Lit. Release No. 25804 / August 7, 2023 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Christopher A. Slaga a/k/a Keith Renko, Q4 Capital, LLC, J4 Capital Advisors LLC, and Hayden F. Greene, No. 8:23-cv-01425 (C.D. Cal. filed August 7, 2023) The Securities and Exchange Commission filed today a complaint in U.S. District Court…

Judge says she’s not ready to accept Hunter Biden’s plea deal, which tried to get him immunity for multiple crimes

The judge in the Hunter Biden case said Wednesday she is not ready to accept the plea deal struck between the president’s son and the Justice Department, and asked both parties to submit additional briefs and return to the court on a future date. Judge Maryellen Noreika demanded that the lawyers from both sides make clear that the deal does…

U.S. prosecutors accuse FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of witness tampering

U.S. prosecutors have accused FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of witness tampering and asked a federal judge to issue an order that would bar the former billionaire and other parties from making public statements likely to interfere with a fair trial. The prosecutors wrote to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Thursday referencing a New York Times article titled “Inside the…