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☆ Elizabeth Warren says the millions in bonuses Silicon Valley Bank executives took home last year should be recovered by regulators: 'We should claw all that back'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Silicon Valley and Signature banks were shut down this week by regulators. Their chief executives made millions, but "we should claw all that back," Warren argued in an op-ed. Joseph DePaolo of Signature got $8.6 million," Warren writes, taking aim at the executives of the collapsed banks. "We should claw all of that back, along with bonuses for other executives at these banks." The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has become the country's largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.

☆ Former NYPD officer who carried tambourine on Jan. 6 convicted after prosecutors said she shoved, slapped officers during riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former NYPD officer was found guilty of seven counts related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Carpenter wielded a tambourine while she walked throughout the Capitol that day. Carpenter was caught on CCTV footage throughout the Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to court documents. Despite having been sprayed with chemical irritants, Carpenter stayed inside the Capitol for approximately 35 minutes, prosecutors said. According to court documents, Carpenter voluntarily handed over her tambourine following her interview with officers.

☆ 'Mexico is safer than the U.S.', Mexican president says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MEXICO CITY, March 13 (Reuters) - Mexico's president said on Monday his country is safer than the United States, pushing back against U.S. critics of his security record following a deadly kidnapping this month near the border that claimed the lives of two Americans. The March 3 attack on four Americans in the Mexican city of Matamoros and their subsequent abduction was covered closely by U.S. media and sparked recriminations from politicians in the U.S., particularly Republicans. By the time Mexican authorities found the Americans, two of them were dead. "Mexico is safer than the United States," he told reporters when questioned about the warnings at a news conference. Additional reporting by Isabel Woodford and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City and Julia Harte in New York; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.K. Serious Fraud Office Abandons Prosecution of Former G4S Executives
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A subsidiary of security services company G4S entered a deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office in 2020. U.K. prosecutors have dropped a case against three former executives of security services company G4S PLC who had been accused of involvement in a scheme to defraud a government department. The case faced issues over the sharing of evidence with the defense, a prosecutor said Friday in London’s Central Criminal Court.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Ng sentenced to 10 years in prison for 1MDB corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng exits the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse after being sentenced for his part helping embezzle from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, in Brooklyn, New York, March 9, 2023. Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, after he was convicted of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. The charges stem from some $6.5 billion in bonds that Goldman helped 1MDB, which was founded to finance development projects in Malaysia, sell in 2012 and 2013. U.S. prosecutors said $4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates, in one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street history. Funds were used to buy high-end real estate, jewelry and artwork, and finance the Hollywood film, "The Wolf of Wall Street," according to the Department of Justice.

☆ Peru court doubles detention time for ex-President Castillo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 9 (Reuters) - A judge in Peru extended ex-President Pedro Castillo's pre-trial detention term to 36 months, up from 18 months, on Thursday, following the former leader's ouster and jailing for illegally attempting to dissolve Congress in December. The three-year detention ruling is related to accusations of organized crime, influence peddling and being an accomplice to collusion committed during Castillo's turbulent 17-month stint in office. "I emphatically, and categorically, deny being the leader or part of a criminal network," Castillo said in a virtual hearing. The court also handed down three years of pre-trial detention to Juan Silva, Castillo's former transportation minister, who has been on the run since last year. Castillo's former housing minister, Geiner Alvarado, who also served as transportation chief after Silva's exit, will remain free for the moment, the court ruled.

☆ Former Blue Bell CEO Pleads Guilty to Misdemeanor Over Listeria Outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shelves sit empty of Blue Bell ice cream at a Dallas grocery store after Blue Bell Creameries LP recalled its products in 2015. U.S. prosecutors are dropping felony fraud charges they brought against a former chief executive of ice cream maker Blue Bell Creameries LP in the wake of a 2015 listeria outbreak that led to three deaths. As part of a settlement reached Wednesday, Paul Kruse , Blue Bell’s CEO from 2004 until 2017, will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge over food safety violations. He will pay a $100,000 fine and avoid jail time, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court in Austin, Texas.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Ng sentenced to 10 years prison in 1MDB corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Former Prime Minister Najib Razak is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted by a Malaysian court of receiving $10 million from a former 1MDB unit. He spent six months in a Malaysian prison before waiving his right to contest extradition to the United States in 2018. He pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement. Malaysian officials have said Low is in China, which Beijing denies. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge.

NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers said on Wednesday it may be necessary to delay the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's scheduled Oct. 2 criminal trial, arguing it may take more time than expected to review the evidence and prepare a defense. Both have since pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. "While we are not making such an application at this time, we wanted to note this issue for the Court now," Christian Everdell, one of Bankman-Fried's lawyers, wrote in the letter. Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million bond and has been under house arrest at his parents' Palo Alto, California home. The trial schedule and Bankman-Fried's bail conditions are expected to be discussed at a court hearing on Friday.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker sentenced to 10 years prison in 1MDB corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - The founder of collapsed private equity company Abraaj Group on Wednesday lost a bid to challenge his extradition from London to the United States to face fraud charges. Judge Jonathan Swift on Wednesday refused Naqvi permission to bring a judicial review against the 2021 approval of his extradition to the United States. Naqvi also suffers from severe depression and there is a “real risk” of suicide if he is extradited, Fitzgerald argued. The judge also said that Naqvi’s suicide risk could be adequately managed if he was held in prison. Naqvi’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Analysis: Bankman-Fried's bid to shift blame complicated by new charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Former FTX technology chief Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, formerly the CEO of Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research hedge fund, had each previously pleaded guilty and are cooperating. Bankman-Fried previously pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda. The 31-year-old former billionaire and his lawyers have suggested they will attempt to shift blame onto Ellison and dispute her expected testimony at his Oct. 2 trial. In unveiling the new charges in a superseding indictment, prosecutors dismissed the idea that Bankman-Fried was in the dark about his former colleagues' crimes. Despite the hurdles, experts said Bankman-Fried will still likely dispute that he knew former members of his inner circle were breaking the law, Kasten said.

BOSTON, March 6 (Reuters) - A United Airlines (UAL.O) passenger has been arrested after trying to open an emergency exit door during a flight on Sunday from Los Angeles to Boston and then trying to stab a flight attendant in the neck, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday. Passengers tackled Francisco Severo Torres, 33, after the attempted stabbing and the flight crew helped restrain him prior the plane landing at Boston Logan International Airport, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that about 45 minutes before the flight landed in Boston, the flight crew received an alarm in the cockpit that a door between the first class and coach sections had been disarmed. Torres soon after tried to stab of the flight attendants with a broken metal spoon, hitting him on the neck area three times before Torres was tackled, prosecutors said. Torres was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Ng deserves 15 years in prison, US prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In his own sentencing request on Feb. 25, Ng asked that he be given no prison time and be allowed to return to Malaysia. He had spent six months in a Malaysian prison before waiving his right to contest extradition to the United States in 2018. Prosecutors said $4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates, in one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street history. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. Leissner pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Roger Ng deserves 15 years in prison after 1MDB scandal, U.S. prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Roger Ng, a former banker for Goldman Sachs Group, exits from federal court in New York, U.S. on May 6, 2019. In his own sentencing request on Feb. 25, Ng asked that he be given no prison time and be allowed to return to Malaysia. U.S. prosecutors on Friday urged a judge to sentence former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. Leissner pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement.

On Thursday a South Carolina jury declared Murdaugh, 54, guilty on two counts of gunning down his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22 on their family estate on June 7, 2021. Murdaugh, the scion of an influential legal family in an area west of Charleston, faces 30 years to life in prison for each of the two counts of murder under South Carolina law. After listening to testimony over five weeks, the jury took only three hours to deliberate before reaching their verdict. The case has drawn intense media coverage given the family's immense political power in and around Colleton County, where the trial took place. Throughout the trial, prosecutors portrayed Murdaugh as a serial liar and argued that only he had the means and the opportunity to commit the murders.

☆ Ericsson pleads guilty in U.S. to federal bribery violations, agrees to pay $206 million penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson agreed to pay a $206 million penalty and pleaded guilty to violating the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, U.S. prosecutors announced Thursday evening. Additionally, the company paid about $540 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company also allegedly failed to disclose possible evidence of a similar scheme in Iraq. "Instead of honoring that commitment, Ericsson repeatedly failed to fully cooperate and failed to disclose evidence and allegations of misconduct in breach of the agreement." In a release, Ericsson said its own internal investigation "did not conclude that Ericsson made or was responsible for any payments to any terrorist organization."

☆ Premarket stocks: Bad sign for stocks: Bond yields are white hot again
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The recent global bond rally appears to be tapering off as investors are getting a cold wet dose of reality about Fed rate hikes. Bonds compete with stocks for investors’ dollars, and when yields go up, equities often go down. That tonal shift has sent stocks lower and Treasury yields higher, as investors rethink their views on the path of interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s efforts to date to bring down inflation while maintaining a strong labor market appear achievable, she added. “As a result, although Fed rate hikes could slow the labor market in the coming months, we think labor supply faces persistent headwinds in the longer run.”

Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder, pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges filed against him in December. Bankman-Fried now faces 12 criminal charges after prosecutors unsealed a new indictment against him last week. Singh is the third Bankman-Fried close associate to plead guilty and agree to cooperate with prosecutors. Caroline Ellison, who was Alameda's chief executive, and Gary Wang, who was FTX's chief technology officer, pleaded guilty in December to seven and four criminal charges, respectively. Singh was a close friend of Bankman-Fried's younger brother in high school, Bankman-Fried wrote in a deleted blog post.

☆ FTX ex-engineering chief Nishad Singh pleads guilty to criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, arrives at court in New York, US, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. FTX ex-engineering head Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to criminal charges in New York on Tuesday, becoming the latest member of Sam Bankman-Fried's former leadership team to agree to a deal. The six charges against Singh include conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. In December, Bankman-Fried was charged with eight criminal accounts, including securities fraud and money laundering. Two of the charges against Singh are related to wire fraud and another is conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.

☆ Former director of engineering at FTX Nishad Singh pleads guilty to criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A former top executive of failed cryptocurrency trading platform FTX pleaded guilty and is cooperating with federal prosecutors investigating the alleged billion-dollar fraud at the now collapsed exchange. Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at FTX, pleaded guilty to six conspiracy charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate federal campaign finances laws. Singh is the third top executive and close confidante of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors. Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, and Caroline Ellison, the former head of FTX’s sister hedge fund Alameda Research, both pleaded guilty last year and are cooperating against Bankman-Fried. New York state election records show Singh made a $107,000 donation to the committee on October 28, 2022.

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD.O) said in a filing on Monday it had received an investigative subpoena in December from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to listings of cryptocurrencies. The collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX was the biggest in a string of major crypto-related failures in 2022, which sparked a cryptocurrency rout and left creditors facing losses of billions of dollars. The SEC has maintained that pre-existing securities laws also apply to digital assets and that many crypto tokens meet the definition of a security, which the crypto industry has previously criticized. Robinhood said the subpoena it received from the SEC was regarding the supported currencies at Robinhood Crypto LLC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the brokerage, as well as its custody of cryptocurrencies and other platform operations. Reporting by Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TD Bank reaches $1.2 billion settlement in Ponzi scheme lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —TD Bank will pay $1.2 billion to settle a lawsuit alleging its involvement in an infamous $7 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by disgraced financier Allen Stanford more than a decade ago. The lawsuit claimed TD Bank collected these deposits in US and Canadian dollar values and continuously ignored red flags about the Antigua-based bank over the years. “TD provided primarily correspondent banking services to Stanford International Bank Limited and maintains that it acted properly at all times,” the bank said. Additionally, HSBC will pay $40 million and Independent Bank, formerly Bank of Houston, will pay $100 million, the receivership’s counsel confirmed. Societe Generale reached a settlement of $157 million and Trustmark agreed to pay $100 million earlier this year.

☆ DoJ moves to seize 6 luxury properties in New York, the Hamptons, and Florida worth $75 million from sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Department of Justice has moved to seize six luxury properties owned by a sanctioned oligarch. Viktor Vekselberg's homes in New York, the Hamptons, and Florida, are worth $75 million. Vekselberg bought the homes via shell companies in Panama and The Bahamas, prosecutors alleged. Court documents show Vekselberg purchased the properties using two shell companies based in Panama, and The Bahamas. Prosecutors say Vekselberg attempted to sell two properties without informing the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

☆ U.S. prosecutors seize properties, charge Russian on Ukraine invasion anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Friday said they were seeking to forfeit six properties in New York and Florida allegedly belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch, and separately charged a Russian national with illegally exporting counterintelligence equipment. The announcements came on the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation." The Department of Justice has sought to use asset seizures and criminal charges to squeeze business executives aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin to press him to stop the war. Two of the properties - an apartment on Park Avenue in Manhattan and an estate in Southampton, New York - had been searched by FBI and Homeland Security Investigations agents last year. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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