Bribery:
- Mike Lucas
An Ottawa-area businessman convicted of arranging illicit payments for public officials in India to win a $100 million security contract with Air India received a three-year prison sentence today in an Ottawa court. (CBC)
Allegations of bid-rigging and bribery in Cayman electricity contracts were dismissed. (Cayman Compass)
The FCPAmericas blog shows how to establish credibility with FCPA enforcement officials and explainshow Sao Paulo is fighting corruption. The FCPAProfessor rounds up some client alerts on the Esquenazi ruling.
Chuck Duross, the former head of the Justice Department’s FCPA unit, weighs in on the Esquenazi case. Client alerts from Ballard Spahr LLP and Haynes & Boone LLP on the Esquenazi ruling are here and here.
Cybercrime/Data Security:
Without naming them, U.S. prosecutors dropped several hints as to which Chinese companies benefited from alleged hacking by five Chinese military officers. Beijing has denied the U.S. allegations. (Bloomberg, NY Times)
A client alert from Smith Anderson asks if the NIST framework will create a newstandard operating procedure for businesses.
Fraud:
The 14th annual report of the European Anti-Fraud Office is here.
Money Laundering:
Guatemala’s ex-president was sentenced in the U.S. to nearly six years in prison after admitting to laundering $2.5 million in bribes he took from the government of Taiwan to continue to recognize the Asian nation diplomatically. (AP)
Nine U.S. firms still sending money to Somalia are collateral damage in a U.S. crackdown on money laundering. (WSJ)
FinCEN issued an advisory this week telling St. Kitts and Nevis to better monitor its “Citizenship-by-Investment” program, which the U.S. says is being used as a cover for financial crimes and money-laundering activities. (WSJ)
Russian Railways, run by an old friend of President Vladimir Putin, awarded vast sumsto contractors who disguise their ownership. The transaction patterns show signs of possible money laundering, but they don’t necessarily mean they’re illegal. The company said the companies were all legitimate, and that its contracts were awarded fairly and fulfilled properly. (Reuters, Reuters)
Finra is scrutinizing banks and traders tied to Credit Suisse AG who use turbochargedcomputer systems to move swiftly into and out of stocks in the hopes of capturing gains from short-term swings, sources told WSJ. The bank is planning to cut ties with the clients, sources said.
The case against Credit Suisse AG was brought in Virginia, because a lone Credit Suisse client, on a single day eight years ago, flew out of Dulles International Airport in Virginia on his way to Zurich. (Dealbook)
An Italian journalist told a court that Hong Kong banks make money laundering easy. (South China Morning Post)
Ukrainian tax authorities investigated a pro-Russian newspaper for alleged money laundering. The media outlet dismissed the allegation, and called the tax police raid on its office an act of “political pressure.” (Kyiv Post)
Chinese banks halted dollar transactions with most Afghan commercial banks, the central bank governor said, as Afghanistan has failed to pass laws meeting global standards against money laundering and terrorist financing. (Reuters)
India expanded its transaction limits under anti-money laundering law. Its reserve bank’s enforcement of know-your-customer rules enables them to understand risks, the deputy governor said. (PTI, PTI)
Sanctions:
Sanctions cast a shadow over Russia’s answer to Davos. The country’s business community spoke out in defiance of sanctions at the conference. A $400 billion deal between Russia and China could complicate Western sanctions efforts against Moscow. Gazprom's boss said Europe isn’t weaning itself off Russian gas anytime soon. (WSJ, Financial Times sub req, Foreign Policy, WSJ)
The U.N. Security Council added Boko Haram to its terrorism list, meaning its leaderswill have their foreign assets frozen, they will be banned from international travel and the group will be subject to an arms embargo. (WSJ, BBC, Al Jazeera)
The talks between Tehran and global powers have hit a critical turn, as the U.S. mayresurrect bilateral negotiations and Iran may meet with European nuclear officials next week. What would the morning after a deal look like? (WSJ WashWire, Al Monitor, National Interest)
Transparency:
A series of letters to the WSJ discuss an SEC rule governing disclosures over payments to foreign governments.
Whistleblowers:
The U.K.’s highest court expanded the rights of lawyers in the country to blow the whistle against their firms. (WSJ Law Blog)
General Anti-Corruption:
The death sentence handed down on Chinese mining tycoon Liu Han exposed the power struggle behind China’s corruption crackdown. (BBC, Reuters)
Barclays Bank was fined by U.K. regulators after one of its traders was discovered attempting to fix the price of gold. (BBC, ProPublica)
Corruption in Ukraine will be a major problem for the next president, to be chosen by voters this weekend. (Gallup)
Is the Alibaba IPO “open sesame” for anti-corruption? Can young people help in the fight against corruption? (GAB, World Economic Forum)
An analysis of the federal investigation into New York’s shuttered anti-graft commission is here. (GAB)
Corruption is on the rise in Pakistan and in Sri Lanka, according to Transparency International reports. (Pakistan Tribune)
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