Category: Enforcement Actions

Ex-Goldman banker was ‘framed’, attorney says at insider trial’s close (insider trading charges)

NEW YORK – Former Goldman Sachs banker Brijesh Goel’s trial on insider trading charges drew to a close on Tuesday, with his attorney saying he was framed by his friend and a prosecutor saying Goel had lied to a New York jury. Goel, a former Goldman Sachs vice-president, faces securities fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges for allegedly tipping…

Hunter Biden to plead guilty to tax crimes, reaches deal on gun charge

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to two charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes. He will enter into an agreement that could enable him to avoid a conviction on a gun-related charge, according to a court filing on Tuesday. The federal charges against Hunter Biden resulted from an investigation by…

TerraUSD: South Korea ‘cryptocrash king’ Do Kwon jailed for forging documents

Do Kwon, the cryptocurrency boss behind the $40bn (£31.3bn) collapse of the terraUSD and Luna tokens, has been sentenced to four months of jail in Montenegro. Mr Kwon was found guilty of forging official documents. He was arrested in March as he tried to board a flight to Dubai at Podgorica Airport, in the country’s capital. Mr Kwon also faces…

Europe warns it might break up Google’s adtech empire

  The European Commission has signalled it could be preparing to break up Google’s adtech business. Speaking during a press conference this afternoon, EU EVP Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s competition chief and head of digital strategy, announced it has sent a formal statement of objections to Google for suspected anti-competitive conduct in its adtech business. If the Commission confirms its…

US expands China forced-labour embargo, banning two new firms

WASHINGTON – The US expanded a ban on imports from China’s Xinjiang region, placing two more companies on its so-called entity list, the first additions since a law targeting forced labour in the area took effect a year ago. Printing and imaging company Ninestar Corp and eight of its subsidiaries, as well as Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical, were added to the…

Reality Winner Has Something to Say About the Trump Indictment

Reality Winner, the first person to be prosecuted in violation of the Espionage Act under the Trump administration, said she was “blown away” by the voluminous detail found in the 49-page indictment against the former president in the sprawling Mar-a-Lago documents scandal. The former intelligence contractor and Air Force linguist made the comments in a new interview with NBC broadcast Friday. In 2018, under the…

US / SEC sues Coinbase and Binance, files motion to freeze Binance assets

The top US securities regulator sued cryptocurrency platform Coinbase on Tuesday, the second lawsuit in two days against a major crypto exchange, in a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on the industry and one that could dramatically transform a market that has largely operated outside regulation. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday took aim at Binance, the…

Italian police search former defense exec’s home in corruption probe

ROME — Magistrates in Italy are probing former Leonardo and Fincantieri officials as part of an investigation into alleged corruption. Police removed computer files from the homes of ex-Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo and a former Italian Italian prime minister, Massimo D’Alema, and are probing former Fincantieri executive Giuseppe Giordo amid claims bribes were offered to Columbian officials to buy planes…

CEO guilty of selling counterfeit Cisco devices to military, govt orgs

A Florida man has pleaded guilty to importing and selling counterfeit Cisco networking equipment to various organizations, including education, government agencies, healthcare, and the military. The 39-year-old resident of Florida, Onur Aksoy, conducted the scheme through 19 companies formed in New Jersey and Florida and in several online storefronts, collectively known as ‘Pro Network Entities,’  Aksoy had a criminal complaint…

Chris Licht is out at CNN, ending a brief and chaotic run

ATLANTA – Mr Chris Licht, the former television producer who oversaw a brief and chaotic tenure as chairman of CNN, is out at the network. Mr Licht’s 13-month run at CNN was marked by one controversy after another, culminating in his exit earlier this week. He got off to a bumpy start even before he officially started when he oversaw…

Treasury ‘sleeping at the wheel’ on PwC tax scandal

Treasury officials have been accused of being asleep at the wheel on breaches of confidential government information. Officials were grilled on their knowledge of potential breaches of confidential Treasury data by former PwC partner Peter Collins, who has been referred to federal police to investigate the allegations. Greens senator Barbara Pocock hit out at Treasury’s decision to sign new confidentiality…

Juror and spouse: Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton could vote in trial on husband’s impeachment

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — On the way to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton becoming a rising figure in the GOP, his wife, Angela, used to entertain crowds with a guitar and a song. “I’m a pistol-packin’ mama, and my husband sues Obama,” she sang at campaign events and Republican clubs in Texas. When it came time for the high school…

India investigates British arms and aerospace manufacturers in aircraft deal graft case

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a complaint on Monday against British multinational aerospace and defense company Rolls Royce, the company’s former India director – Tim Jones, arms dealer Sudhir Choudhrie and his son Bhanu Choudhrie (who are UK citizens), and British Aerospace Systems (BAE Systems). The allegations include criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption in a 2004 procurement of…

Jury Convicts Former Aequitas CEO and Company Executives for Roles in $300 Million Fraud Conspiracy

PORTLAND, Ore.—After a six-week trial in Portland, a federal jury found three former executives of Aequitas Management, LLC, and associated companies, guilty today for their roles in a vast fraud conspiracy. Evidence at trial showed the conspirators raised nearly $300 million from defrauded investors. Robert J. Jesenik, 63, former chief executive officer of Aequitas and resident of Lake Oswego, Oregon;…

Twitter pulls out of voluntary EU disinformation code

CorruptionLedger commentary in red.   Twitter has pulled out of the European Union’s voluntary code to fight disinformation, the EU has said. Thierry Breton, who is the EU’s internal market commissioner, announced the news on Twitter – but warned the firm new laws would force compliance. “Obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide,” he said. Twitter will be…

Police raid on Russian tycoon’s property was illegal – German court

The court ruled that the initial money laundering suspicions were insufficient to warrant the searches at Usmanov’s premises in the first place. The judges also pointed to some “serious deficiencies” in the search warrants requested by Frankfurt’s Public Prosecutor’s Office at the time. Suspicions against Usmanov were based on allegations that were too vague, the court declared. The assumption that…