Corruption Ledger

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 nearly 3 per cent since January in the steepest annual drop for the US currency since 2020. In line with…

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 that Terraform is liable for selling unregistered securities, though he threw out allegations that it had made transactions in unregistered…

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 the Side A primary issue, raised during a recent industry gathering in Toronto, is the hefty excise tax, which critics…

WASHINGTON: The US will provide up to $250 million in arms and equipment to Ukraine in the final package of aid this year to help Kyiv in its war with Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. President Joe Biden has asked Congress to provide another $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, but Republicans are refusing to approve the assistance without an agreement with Democrats to tighten security along the U.S.-Mexico border. The White House has warned that…

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 MAS in a statement on Dec 28. The RMs had provided clients with inaccurate or incomplete post-trade disclosures, resulting in…

The U.S. on Wednesday announced what officials say could be the final package of military aid to Ukraine unless Congress approves supplemental funding legislation that is stalled on Capitol Hill. The weapons, worth up to $250 million, include an array of air munitions and other missiles, artillery, anti-armor systems, ammunition, demolition and medical equipment and parts. The aid, provided through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, will be pulled from Pentagon stockpiles. In a statement, Marine Lt. Col. Garron Garn, a Pentagon spokesman said there is…

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 fishing trip to Russia from shareholders of a now defunct bank. He was sentenced to six years in jail and…

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 been regarded as a cornerstone of women’s rights in the country for decades. Behind the Advisory The advisory took 71…

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 commitment to stymie Russia’s access to international financial networks and critical war supplies. The Financial Front of Warfare The latest…

An Israeli airstrike killed 76 members of an extended family, rescue officials said Saturday, a day after the UN’s chief warned again that nowhere is safe in Gaza and that Israel’s ongoing offensive is creating “massive obstacles” to the distribution of humanitarian aid. Friday’s strike on a building in Gaza City was among the deadliest of the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 12th week, said Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defence Department. He provided a partial list of the names…

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 a violent confrontation. A video that captured the harrowing incident went viral, revealing the use of sticks in the assault…

For weeks, alternative news outlets like The Grayzone and The Intercept have cast major doubts on Israel’s claim that the al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza sat atop a major Hamas command center. Now, even an ultimate establishment outlet — the Washington Post — has likewise found that Israel’s claims about the hospital it besieged don’t stand up to scrutiny. Mistrust existed even before the Israeli Defense Forces first besieged the hospital before bombing a departing ambulance convoy, and then raiding…

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 Colorado Supreme Court unilaterally disqualifying Trump from the 2024 election ballot, every basic tenet of our justice system is being…

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 Commission under regulator Financial Services Commission (FSC), said the people, who requested anonymity discussing private matters.  Naked short selling is…

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 policies, monitoring procedures, and accounting controls.  The law also significantly changes the government’s prosecution strategies for white collar crime, particularly…

  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 as Temu, accused Shein of orchestrating a “multifaceted scheme” to slow its growth. It added that Shein had been trying…