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Vile plutocrat

 
     

Price fixing trial collapses

LONDON - The trial of four senior British Airways executives over price-fixing allegations with Virgin Atlantic collapsed after the OFT's prosecuting team failed to disclose key documents.   (Guardian UK)  MORE:  Trial collapses 

 

Daimler to settle

WASHINGTON - Daimler AG has agreed to pay $185M to resolve a long-running US investigation into allegations that the German auto maker paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to secure business overseas, according to a person familiar with the matter.    (Wall Street Journal)  MORE:  Chinese officials involved in bribery case

Hollywood wins big in the corporate welfare lottery

Handouts to business help politicians create the illusion they are "doing something" to benefit the economy. However, there is no evidence that tax handouts to any business, let alone to a film business, create a net benefit for the economy. (Vancouver Sun)

 

Bribery and other charges

LONDON - Three UK directors of the French engineering group Alstom have been arrested on suspicion of bribery and other offences after raids this morning by the Serious Fraud Office.  They are accused of bribery and corruption, conspiracy to pay bribes, money laundering and false accounting.  (Guardian UK)

 

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Antitrust lawsuit

NEW YORK - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing Intel Corp., accusing the world's biggest chip maker of using its size to snuff out competition.  (AP)    PREVIOUS:   Intel to pay $1.25B to AMD   EU fines Intel   Intel decision 'too late to save competition'   EU details evidence

 

Real estate industry

TORONTO - What began as a spat between a discount broker and Toronto's real estate establishment has burgeoned into a national issue that could sharply lower the cost of home-buying in BC and across the country.   (Vancouver Sun)   COMMENT:  Break the CREA cartel   Real estate fee victory   Protect yourself from real estate fraud

 

Alleged penny stock fraud

REGINA - The US Securities and Exchange Commission has secured a $62M US civil court judgment against a Saskatchewan man in connection with an alleged penny stock fraud involving a diamond mining company that claimed to hold mineral rights near Prince Albert. Urban Casavant, the 52-year-old former CEO of CMKM Diamonds, could not be located for comment.  (Regina Leader-Post)

 

Province 'powerless'

TORONTO - Drivers looking for relief from the 407 express toll road's collection tactics and sky-high interest rates aren't likely to get help from Ontario's transportation ministry.  (Toronto Star)   PREVIOUS:  Costly traffic jams   OECD   OECD review: Toronto, Canada   Report suggests road tolls, taxes for GTA   Road tolls touted as cure 

 

Northrop loses bid

OTTAWA - Northrop Grumman Corp. can’t challenge Canada’s award of a $140M contract for weapon- targeting equipment to Lockheed Martin Corp. because it isn’t a Canadian company, the nation’s highest appeals court ruled.  (Bloomberg)  JUDGMENT:  2009 SCC 50

 

Executives to stand trial

PARIS - Former Vivendi executives Jean-Marie Messier and Edgar Bronfman Jr are among seven people who must stand trial in Paris on charges involving share manipulation at the media company. (Bloomberg)   MORE:  Bronfman Jr faces trial

 

Hezbollah denies links

BEIRUT - It's turning into the biggest financial scandal to hit Lebanon in years, perpetrated by a businessman being dubbed the nation's Bernie Madoff.  Now, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is weighing in on the topic amid allegations that Salah Ezzedine was a financier of the Shiite militant group and political organization.  (LA Times)

 

Cover-up

LONDON - A damning 850-page report (.pdf) into the collapse of MG Rover was begun 4 years ago at a cost of £16M to the taxpayer.  (Times online)   MORE:   Phoenix windfall   Not the fault of government   The scandal is the public inquiry

Regulated 'competition' has been good for us

LONDON - Britain’s biggest energy companies earned an average 40% more in profits per household over winter following a collapse in the wholesale prices they paid for gas and electricity, Ofgem, the energy regulator, said.    (Times online)   RELATED:  An energy breakthrough?   Cynical price manipulation

 

Watchdog gives up

LONDON - The Office for Fair Trading (OFT) has abandoned its legal fight against Britain's banking sector over unauthorised overdraft charges, after losing its landmark test case at the supreme court last month.  (Guardian UK)   MORE:  Customers lose     Competition Commission reversing earlier anti-competitive ruling    Thou shall steal

 

Probe of restaurant industry

OTTAWA - A two-year probe of the restaurant industry in Canada has uncovered at least $40M in "phantom" cash sales so far, says the Canada Revenue Agency.    (CP) PREVIOUS:  Automated sales suppression device 

 

Ruling questions settlements

NEW YORK - Legal experts said Monday's rejection by US District Judge Jed S Rakoff of the agency's proposed $33M settlement with Bank of America Corp. could bring tougher scrutiny of other settlements over alleged wrongdoing.  For decades, the SEC has resolved more than 90% of its investigations through settlements, lawyers estimate.   (Wall Street Journal)

 

Amazonians sue Chevron

QUITO - Tens of thousands of Ecuadoreans living in the Amazon rainforest are suing Chevron for poisoning their waterways in what is billed as one of the biggest environmental lawsuits in history.   (Telegraph UK)   PREVIOUS:  Chevron's man in Ecuador   Amazon Crude   ChevronToxico

 

Faking bank records

TORONTO - Cullen Johnson was a top Toronto cop. Elaine White was a dogged investigator at a downtown accounting firm.  Now the husband and wife team of private detectives are accused of forging and selling bank records that make clients believe an ex-spouse, friend or employee has millions of dollars stashed offshore.  (Toronto Star)

 

Fine for bribes

LONDON - In the first prosecution brought in Britain against a company for overseas corruption, the bridge-building company Mabey & Johnson admitted employing “the white man’s handshake” to build trust and confidence before signing contracts.   (Times online) 

 

The article Cash4Gold doesn't want you to read

If you have any broken, ugly jewelry lying around in a drawer somewhere, you've probably taken notice of a company called Cash4Gold that promised to pay "top dollar" for your not-so-precious precious metals. If you're like us, you might have even seen a post on ComplaintsBoard.com by a former employee exposing Cash4Gold.  (Consumerist)   PREVIOUS:  Cash4Gold begins search to find the perfect Canadian personality for future ads

   

Ottawa to flex its muscles

OTTAWA - Industry Minister Tony Clement says he's taking US Steel to court over its acquisition of Stelco Inc. in order to show foreign takeover bidders that Ottawa is serious about protecting Canadian interests.  It is the first time the federal government has taken legal action to force a company to meet its promises under the 1985 Investment Canada Act.  (Toronto Star)

Competition ask to investigate

OTTAWA - The Canadian government has asked the Competition Bureau to investigate complaints that Ticketmaster diverts tickets to its reselling subsidiary Ticketsnow, which then sells them for far higher prices.  (Reuters)    PREVIOUS:   Class action lawsuit   Scalping suit filed   Lawsuit off limits to BC residents   Consumer will pay    Live Nation

     

OAS orders gold mine shut down

GUATEMALA CITY - The IACHR has ordered Guatemala to act on a request by residents of two indigenous communities and suspend operations at the Marlin gold mine.  The mine, owned by Goldcorp Inc., and located near Sipacapa and San Miguel Ixtahuacan, has been in operation since 2008.  (LAHT)

Mining project halted

Yamana Gold

Court halts open-pit mining

Mining lobby at work

A brief history of resistance to mining

Canadian mining operations stir controversy

Barrick

Mining Watch Canada

Mining lobby pushes back    

Mining project could affect millions

Goldcorp   Canada's top 100 employers  

Mexico shuts down mine

Mayor blackmailed us

Arrests made

Mining firm at centre of murder probe

Demonstration at Canadian embassy

Chiapas anti-mining organizer murdered  

Bill C-300  

Fight over mining bill

Canadian mining firms face abuse allegations

Copper mesa sued

New Gold forced to suspend mine

Mining permit invalid

Lawsuit

Copper Mesa Mining Corporation

Don't mention Avatar

 
     

'Simply false'

The Canadian Real Estate Association says allegations it is anti-competitive are "simply false," according to a legal defence filed with the Competition Tribunal.  (Financial Post) 

Competition Bureau

What's at stake

Realtors' new realities

Watchdog targets MLS changes

Real estate professionals approve MLS changes

If it exists, it will expand

Competition Bureau challenge

Canadian Real Estate Association

 
     

EU targets Google

BRUSSELS - The European Commission has launched a preliminary inquiry into anti-trust allegations against Google brought by three online companies over how the Internet giant’s search engine operates and the way it sells its digital advertising.  (AFP)  

Court convicts Google trio of violating privacy

Tax laws have been good for us

Google faces landmark lawsuit

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission

 
     

Criminal probe

WASHINGTON - A top  Toyota Motor Corp. US executive promised a quality shake-up as the Obama administration said it would hold the carmaker's chief to a pledge to address safety issues after massive recalls.  Criminal investigations are now being hinted at by subpoenas from the US Securities and Exchange Commission and a federal grand jury in New York.  (Reuters)

Tinkering

Toyoda apologizes in China for recalls

GM recalls 1.3M cars

Memo raises stakes

Toyota heads to Hill with team of lobbyists

Regulators halt investigations

2010 Toyota vehicle recalls

 
     

Total, Chevron accused

BANGKOK - Energy giants Total and Chevron are propping up Myanmar's junta with a gas project that has allowed the regime to stash nearly $5B in Singaporean banks.  (AFP)  MORE:  Total and Chevron linked to corruption   Junta siphons gas revenue offshore    Generals pocket $5B from Total oil deal

Killed 'over submarine money'

CHERBOURG - A probe into the 2002 killing of 11 French engineers in Pakistan is focusing on France's failure to pay a commission for the sale of submarines to Pakistan.  (AFP)  MORE:  Political scandal brews    2002 Karachi bus bombing   French Agosta submarine   Jacques Chirac Edouard Balladur Asif Ali Zardari  

 
     

Bid-rigging fine

LONDON - The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) fined the construction industry £129.5M after an investigation into bid-rigging between companies tendering for public sector building contracts. In total, 103 companies have been fined (.pdf) for engaging in "illegal anti-competitive bid-rigging activities” on 199 tenders between 2000 and 2006 worth £200M. (Times online) 

Battle is on

VANCOUVER - Over his lifetime, Jack Cewe grew his gravel-mining business into one of BC's most prosperous companies. The businessman and philanthropist died on June 7, 2008, at the age of 86.  Now Cewe's granddaughter, Kirsten Mide-Wilson, who is his sole surviving blood relative, has gone to court for what she argues is her rightful inheritance. . (Vancouver Sun)

 
     

2 versions of document

TORONTO - Construction managers Govan Brown had two versions of a document entitled "instructions to bidders" related to Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. projects in Brantford and Ajax, letters reveal.    (Toronto Star)   PREVIOUS:  Casino contracts under fire

When lobbying doesn't work

TORONTO - Canadian banks, facing the biggest profit decline in seven years, are expanding their insurance businesses, using the Internet and stand-alone outlets to get around restrictions dating from at least 1923 on insurance sales in bank branches.  (Financial Post)

 
     

WHO rules on plane dispute

GENEVA - The World Trade Organization (WTO) has given its long-awaited ruling on the biggest trade dispute in its history.  The decision, which is officially confidential, is over whether the European Union gave illegal subsidies to plane maker Airbus as the US argues.  The EU has also made a counter claim against the US for its support of Boeing.  (BBC)   MORE:  EU loans to Airbus deemed illegal    EU loans to Airbus deemed not illegal

Canada Post 'deal'

OTTAWA - Questions are being raised in Ottawa about Canada Post’s awarding of a contact last year, worth an estimated $100 million over five years, to a Kelowna company.  The awarding of the “no-tender” contract to Purolator Courier Ltd. and Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter Ltd. warrants an inquiry given that Barry Lapointe, owner of Kelowna Flightcraft, has a 7% ownership stake in Purolator, while Canada Post owns 91% of the courier company.   (Kelowna Capital News)

 
     

Attempt to silence by gagging order

Apple attempted to silence a father and daughter with a gagging order after the child’s iPod music player exploded and the family sought a refund from the company. (Times online)

Fraud probe

LONDON - JJB Sports and Sports Direct are being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in relation to an alleged cartel involving the sale of sports goods.  (Times online)

 
     

Ministry ordered work stopped

TORONTO - The Toronto construction site where four men died on Christmas Eve was temporarily shut down by the Ministry of Labour months before the accident because of safety concerns.   (CBC)  

Charges up to police

Legality of dead workers probed

Bodies recovered

Scaffold collapses

Construction accident

4 killed

 
     

Bribery scandal

WASHINGTON - Steven Rattner was an executive at the Quadrangle Group, a private equity firm, until he left this year to lead President Barack Obama's efforts to fix the US auto industry.  (CBS)  MORE:  Rattner involved in inquiry on fees

Bell loses bid to shut down lawsuit

YELLOWKNIFE - Bell Mobility failed a second time to get a Yellowknife man's $6M class-action lawsuit thrown out of court, with the man's lawyer now focusing on the suit's central issue - Bell's fees for non-existent 911 service in the territory.  (CBC)

 
     

Celebrities lose out

LONDON - Celebrities, sports stars and high-profile businessmen are among the victims of an elaborate £80 million London "Ponzi" scheme that has wiped out the life savings of hundreds of Britons, police said.  . (Telegraph UK)   MORE:  Celebrities hit by Ponzi fraud

Lax anti-bribery measures

Canada is among a group of major western trading countries who aren't abiding by their obligations under an international convention to enforce a foreign bribery ban, Transparency International said.  (CanWest)  REPORT:  Exporters failing to curb overseas bribery

 
     

Mandatory arbitration

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson sued the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) for consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices and false advertising, and then swiftly negotiated a deal for NAF to exit the arbitration field.  (ABC)

LCD price fixing charges

BRUSSELS - European Union antitrust regulators have charged Royal Philips Electronics NV and LG Display with fixing the price of liquid crystal display monitors, Philips said Monday.  (AP)   MORE:  EU: LCD price-fixing

 
     

Fall of a crooked geologist

VANCOUVER - It was an exciting day for the Vancouver-based exploration company. By the closing bell, Southwestern Resources’ share price had jumped by $2.10 to $8.40 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.   (Vancouver Sun)

MORE:  Ex-CEO admits to fraud, insider trading

Six Flags files

NEW YORK - The amusement park company Six Flags is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it needs to reorganize and shed $1.8B of debt.   (AP)    MORE:  La Ronde owner files   Bankruptcy could mean a 'success bonus'

 
     

Lawyers abandon injunction

LONDON - An MP revealed the report's existence to parliament, after the Guardian was hit with a "super-injunction" banning all mention of it and other UK media were then subsequently notified of, and therefore bound by it.  (Guardian UK)  

Corruption fears

Twitterers thwart attempt to gag media

Trafigura and the Probo Koala

2006 Cote d'Ivoire toxic waste dump

Trafigura

Minton report   .pdf  

 
     

Companies charged in deaths

EDMONTON - The charges are laid under the province's Occupational Health and Safety Act and involve Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Sinopec Shangahi Engineering Company (SSEC) Ltd. and SSEC Canada Ltd.   (CTV)   MORE:  Companies charged in fatal roof collapse

Credit card fees investigated

OTTAWA - The Competition Bureau of Canada is investigating whether credit card networks such as Visa and MasterCard are violating the law by charging high fees to businesses for transactions following thousands of complaints across the country. (CanWest)   MORE:  Retailers' pain in the cards   Credit card fees for business

 
     

'Green' dams

The island of Borneo is under threat from plans for Chinese engineers to build 12 dams that will cut through virgin land and displace thousands of native Dayak people.  The initial contract has gone to the Chinese state-owned company that built the controversial Three Gorges Dam - a project described by Dai Qing as “a black hole of corruption”.  (Times online)  PREVIOUS:  'Spare our homeland'

Rivalry between police, military

JAKARTA - Deadly ambushes at the world's largest gold mine likely stem from rivalries between Indonesian police and military forces who compete for millions in illegal profits for protecting the industry, analysts said.  The shootings highlight the security challenges for the American company that operates the mine, Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.  (AP)

 
     

RCMP bribery probe

CALGARY - In an interesting twist of geopolitics, oil and gas producer Niko Resources Ltd. announced it was under investigation by the RCMP for allegedly bribing senior government officials in Bangladesh.  (Calgary Herald)

Shell settles

Royal Dutch Shell has agreed a $15.5M out-of-court settlement in a case accusing it of complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria.  . (BBC)   PREVIOUS:  Lawsuits against Royal Dutch Shell

 
     

Resellers to be fined

TORONTO - The board said it plans to issue a $200,000 fine to Toronto-based Universal Energy Corp and a $100,000 fine to Summitt Energy Management of Mississauga for making "false, misleading or deceptive statements to consumers."  (Toronto Star)   RELATED:  BC Natural Gas Marketers

'Corporate citizen' standard

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that directors owe a duty to act in the best interests of corporation in a change of control situation and that means considering all stakeholders, not simply shareholders.  (Financial Post)  MORE:  Company comes first   2008 SCC 69

 
     

Inquiry told man died over $10

CALGARY - Witnesses testified John Davis made several attempts to get his gas reconnected after it was cut off in June 2006, for non-payment.  Three credit and collections agents with ATCO I-Tek, the company which provided customer service for Direct Energy, testified they dealt with calls from Davis before his death.  (Sun Media)

Grave rights abuses

UNITED NATIONS - Government and rebel armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have committed serious human right abuses, including mass killings, rape and torture, according to a new UN report.  (Reuters)  PREVIOUS:  Peace 'doomed'   Mining Watch Canada   Mining in the DRC   Battle of Goma   Politics of the DRC

 
     

$77M charge

TORONTO - The Ontario Securities Commission has slapped $77 million in penalties and restitution against four company officials from Research in Motion Ltd., Canada's high-tech superstar.  (Toronto Star)   PREVIOUS:  RIM faces record penalty    RIM executive team

Steel cartel fined

PARIS - The French competition council has fined 11 steel trading companies and units of producers a record $786.2M after a probe found a widespread cartel had fixed prices.  The fine is for companies including units of ArcelorMittal, Kloeckner and Descours & Cabaud.   (Reuters)  

 
     

Probe launched

STOCKHOLM - Swedish anti-corruption agents are investigating allegations that pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca influenced the awarding of this year's Nobel Prize in medicine.  (Toronto Star)   MORE:  Did a drug company 'buy' Nobel Prize?   Corruption claims engulf Nobel Prize   Trips to China raises questions

Microtek's money

VICTORIA - A fish vaccine company that has had ongoing problems following animal care and other regulations at the University of Victoria was an early product of the school's efforts to commercialize its research.  (Tyee)   PREVIOUS:  Employees raised many alarms   Tainted water from UVic fish lab

 
     

Average yearly salary

TORONTO - As many Canadians nurse their post-New Year's Eve hangovers and ponder what further economic storms await, Canada's top corporate executives can take some comfort in knowing they have already earned as much as the average worker will earn in all of 2009. (CTV)

REPORT:  Banner year for Canada’s CEOs

Hospitals accused of fraud

LOS ANGELES - On a Sunday afternoon two years ago, five homeless people being dropped off on Los Angeles' skid row by an ambulance caught the attention of police officers.   (LA Times)   PREVIOUS:  Legal actions target patient dumping   Police probe LA homeless dumping

 
     

Victims get $100M

TORONTO - Canada's leading payday lender has agreed to pay $100M to Ontario clients who complained they were ripped off by usurious interest rates.   (Toronto Star)

Class-action in court

Money Mart class action

Payday loans hearings in city

 
     

UK bribery, corruption law updated

LONDON - Bosses who turn a blind eye to bribery and corruption face up to 10 years in jail under new laws to be announced.  (Telegraph UK)

Buy-to-let fraud

LONDON - Detectives are investigating one of Britain’s biggest buy-to-let schemes in which large numbers of investors have seen their savings wiped out.   (Times online)

 
     

Consumer rebates

OTTAWA -  The federal Competition Bureau has set up a special research group and will issue a bulletin that warns businesses against false and misleading rebate ads - and tries to arm shoppers against deceptive practices.   (CP)

Sharp fined for price fixing

TOKYO - Japan's fair trade watchdog slapped Sharp Corp with a $3M fine for fixing prices of liquid crystal display panels (LCD) used for Nintendo's popular DS portable game machines.  (AP)

 
     

World Bank scandal

WASHINGTON - In 1997, Mohamed Vazir Muhsin, a Sri Lankan accountant, was chosen by then - World Bank President James Wolfensohn as the first chief information officer in the institution's history. (Fox)   MORE:  Cyber security questions at World Bank

No checks on directors

LONDON - The boss of a company which helps banks vet their customers for money laundering and terrorism, says it is "horrifying" that Companies House does not check company directors for terror or organised crime links.  (BBC)

 
     

Americans in the dark over fees

NEW YORK - When you fork over $36 billion, it stands to reason that you should know exactly what you're paying for.   (CNN)   REPORT:  GAO: Report on bank fees   .pdf

Crown drops criminal charge

VANCOUVER - Telecommunications giant Telus is off the hook on allegations that it criminally withheld information in a high-profile serial killer investigation.  (CBC)

 
     

Tobacco firms fined

OTTAWA - Tobacco giants Rothmans Benson and Hedges and Imperial Tobacco pleaded guilty this morning to charges of failing to pay taxes on cigarettes that were used in a contraband and smuggling scheme and have been ordered to pay fines of $300 million and damages of about $850 million.  (Toronto Star)   RELATED:  Philip Morris announces agreement to acquire Rothmans

'Paraffin mafia' fined

BRUSSELS - The European Commission has fined nine firms a total of $948m for operating what it called a price-fixing "paraffin mafia". The nine companies which have been fined are: US ExxonMobil; Repsol of Spain; Italy's ENI; Tudapetrol, Hansen & Rosenthal and RWE of Germany; France's Total; and MOL of Hungary. (BBC) 

 
     

Lawyer's scam could top $1B

FORT LAUDERDALE - The alleged investment scam by Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein could top $1B, making it one of the biggest fraud cases in South Florida history, the head of the FBI in South Florida said Thursday morning at a news conference.  (Miami Herald) 

Lawyer's scheme busted  

Hiring city officers for protection

SEC flubbed probes

Jaw-dropping incompetence

Investigation botched

Ponzi scheme: The Montreal link

Police search BNP HQ

BNP Paribas

Another failure for the regulators

Even $50B number fiction

Madoff had steady presence in Washington

'Honorable man'

Ashamed broker dies

'Prosecutorial hurricane'

Ruling says Madoff investors must pay up

Carlo Ponzi

The global oil scam 50 times bigger than Madoff

Associate found dead    Jeffry Picower

'Victims' likely to be sued

Half of accounts show no loss

Audit firms can be sued for negligence

150 years  

Madoff stripped of assets

Bernard L. Madoff

Guilty plea

Wife withdrew walk around money

Madoff client list released

Madoff victims list

'The sharks are circling'

Ponzi Nation

Fund fraud hits big names

Big returns trumped risks

Billions ‘gone to money heaven'

Massive Ponzi scheme

SEC charges Bernard L. Madoff

Ex-NASDAQ chair arrested on fraud charge

SEC   NASDAQ

Investigation of failure   .pdf  

 
     

Absentee pulp mill owners

MACKENZIE - Days after the BC government took over a Mackenzie pulp mill, for fear of a toxic-chemical spill, the company that owns the facility has issued a statement saying it is responding to the province's environmental concerns and intends to pay back taxpayers.  (Vancouver Province)  

'Point man'

Court orders sale

Offer raising questions

Stock promoter offers to buy mill

Arson charge laid

Concerns about fire

Pulp mill to retain nuclear equipment

BC fears loss of pulp mill records

Arson     Arson suspected

'I wanted to puke in my corn flakes' 

Province takes over pulp mill

 
     

Potash alleged price fixing

NEW YORK - Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Mosaic Co. and Agrium are among a host of potash producers and suppliers being sued by a Minnesota fertilizer maker, alleging price-fixing schemes by the companies.  (Reuters)

World's most wanted

NEW YORK - It didn't take long for the feds to get their hands on Samuel Israel III after he faked his death on the Bear Mountain Bridge just north of New York City.  (Forbes)  PREVIOUS:  CIV: Chinese fugitives in Canada

 
     

Tax evasion is justifiable

OTTAWA - A limited amount of tax evasion by otherwise honest business owners is justifiable, say people who run companies in the construction and restaurant sectors.   (Ottawa Citizen)

Alcoa sued for $1B

PITTSBURGH - Alcoa Inc., the world's third-biggest aluminum producer, was sued by a government-controlled Bahraini company for at least $1B in damages based on claims of fraud and bribery of officials overseas. (Bloomberg)

 
     

Lawsuit targets bank

MONTREAL - An Israeli group has filed a lawsuit in Montreal on behalf of four Canadian citizens against a financial institution it allegesis was doing business with two Hezbollah - linked organizations.  The institution named in the lawsuit, filed in Quebec Superior Court, is the Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB).  (CTV)

Russian oligarchs battle for billions

LONDON - The long-running feud between the oligarchs Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich, once best friends at the Kremlin, descended to an English courtoom yesterday with the $4 billion proceeds of Russia’s oil and aluminium riches at stake.    (Times online)  MORE:  Billionaires’ court battle

 
     

Barclays and RBS raided by OFT

LONDON - Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland have been raided by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) as part of an investigation into price fixing in the market for loans to professional services firms.    (Times online)

Enbridge fee 'outrageous'

TORONTO - Enbridge is set to charge its Ontario customers a new fee to help pay the costs of an out-of-court settlement. In 2004, the Supreme Court ruled against the natural gas company - for charging unfair fees.   (CTV)

 
     

Drug informer role claim

HOUSTON - Evidence has emerged that the Texan who bankrolled English cricket may have been a US government informer.  Sir Allen Stanford, who is accused of bank fraud, is the subject of an investigation by the BBC's Panorama.  Sources told Panorama that if he was a paid anti-drug agency informer, that could explain why a 2006 probe into his financial dealings was quietly dropped. (BBC)

Allen Stanford

Executives indicted

Stanford surrenders to federal agents

Lawyer blames SEC

FBI finds Stanford

Bill died in committee

Clients in limbo

Money laundering for Gulf cartel?

Latin Americans fret as crisis spreads

Texas billionaire charged

Millions On Lobbying

 
     

Guardian loses

LONDON - The Guardian lost a high court challenge to lift an emergency gagging order imposed on the publication of Barclays Bank documents alleged to detail huge tax avoidance schemes.  (Guardian UK)

Legal loopholes

Tax loopholes that have outlived their time

Barclays trying to stave off government bailout

Barclays' injunction

Barclays Bank documents

Tax-gap

 
     

Switzerland accepts standard

BERN - The Swiss government announced that it will adopt the OECD standard on administrative assistance in tax matters, which is part of the OECD’s Model Tax Convention (Geneva Lunch)

Countries to loosen bank secrecy rules

Switzerland eases banking secrecy

Tax-gap

Senate Subcommittee on Investigations

UBS boss charged

Raoul Weil

Zurich's secretive 'Canada Desk'

US, Switzerland showdown

UBS will only release onshore details

Obama's UBS fundraiser

McCain economic adviser UBS lobbyist

New exec pay model

Attack of the Global Pirate Bankers

2008 Liechtenstein tax affair 

Tax haven closed

UBS    LGT Bank

Frank Lowy

Congressional probe 

Laundromat Royale

UBS banker held in US tax probe

Tax authorities pay for bank details

Tax havens

Open Secrets

 
     

Lawyer gets 20 years

NEW YORK - A once-prominent Manhattan attorney was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a hatching a massive fraud in a brazen attempt to keep his law firm afloat and bankroll a lavish lifestyle.  (AP)

Marc Dreier

Anatomy of a crack-up

More victims of Dreier fraud

Some details emerge

NY lawyer gets bail

Dreier charged for impersonating

 
     

911 facts failed to follow family

CALGARY - The family of an 18-month-old boy who died Tuesday are asking how their Internet phone service managed to keep track of their billing address - but their 911 service couldn't find them the night Elijah Luck stopped breathing and his parents called for an ambulance.  (Calgary Herald)    PREVIOUS:  Toddler's death a tragic reminder of VoIP limitations   Internet phone service questioned after baby death

Tunnel firm sought to redo contract

VANCOUVER - Bilfinger Berger, the company fired from building the twin tunnels for the Seymour-Capilano Filtration plant sought to renegotiate its contract to a "pay-as-you-go" system, which would likely have doubled the project cost, Metro Vancouver claims.  (Vancouver Sun)   PREVIOUS:  Metro board plans to sue over tunnel   German firm terminated

 
     

5 to stand trial

PARIS - Continental Airlines and five people are to stand trial for manslaughter over the Concorde crash in July 2000 in which 113 people died.   (Telegraph UK)   PREVIOUS:  Air France Flight 4590  

WB using US funds to boost Iranian industry

WASHINGTON - The World Bank is using millions of dollars in American taxpayer funds to help Iran build up its industrial and natural gas sectors.  (Fox)  

 
     

Total clear in French explosion

TOULOUSE - A court has acquitted a subsidiary of French energy giant Total over a 2001 explosion at a French chemical plant which killed 30 and injured thousands.   (BBC)

Total

Prosecutors to appeal acquittal

2001 Toulouse chemical factory explosion

Guilty plea in UK explosion

2005 Hertfordshire oil storage terminal fire

Total found guilty in oil spill case

Scandal of the Erika

 
     

What you see isn't what you get

OTTAWA - The Senate added a roadblock to the so-called "all-in" advertising provision, postponing it until industry and government had the time to figure out how to avoid any unintended consequences on airlines' competitiveness.  Liberal senator Dennis Dawson, a former lobbyist for WestJet Airlines, proposed the implementation delay after airline executives appeared before the Senate.  (CanWest)

Former DuPont scientist pleads to corporate espionage

WILMINGTON - A former DuPont senior scientist has pleaded guilty to corporate espionage in US District Court in Delaware, admitting to trying to steal $400 million worth of information.  (News Journal)  PREVIOUS: Engineer accused of military-industrial espionage   Fed get convictions on economic espionage   Economic espionage hits SJ firm

 
     

Travel scams

LONDON - The Hollow Insurance: A Consumer Association survey in 2006 reported that 81% of customers didn’t have their coverage properly explained to them by their travel agent, 55% weren’t told about their excess payment and 65% weren’t asked about any existing medical complaints that might have left them uncovered. The government is so concerned that, from January 2009, travel agents will be regulated by the Financial Services Authority.  (ETN)  PREVIOUS:  Moneysupermarket

Criminal inquiry hits De La Rue

LONDON - The City of London Police said that its new anti-corruption unit had launched raids on two company premises in Hampshire and one in Bedfordshire as part of a joint investigation with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).   De La Rue prints more than 150 national currencies as well as passports, travellers' checks, stamps and passports, through its security paper and print division.  The group also owns 20 per cent of Camelot Group, the consortium that operates the National Lottery. (Times online)

 
     

VIHA halts admissions

VICTORIA - The Vancouver Island Health Authority has frozen admissions to Beacon Hill Villa in Victoria and taken the rare step of appointing a public administrator to run the troubled seniors' care home over the next six months.  (Victoria Times Colonist

Yahoo in China human rights case

A human rights group in the US is suing Yahoo for alleged complicity in rights abuses and acts of torture in China.  The World Organization for Human Rights says Yahoo's sharing of information with the Chinese government has led to the arrests of writers and dissidents. (BBC)

 
     

Brussels to probe 7 airlines

BRUSSELS - The European Commission has opened two separate investigations.  The investigations are into transatlantic routes between Europe and North America run by One World alliance members BA, American and Iberia, and Star Alliance carriers Air Canada, Lufthansa and United. (BBC)

Air Canada included in probe

US Justice Department

Airlines fined $504M

EU adds to price-fixing probe

Air Canada gets EC statement of objections

 
     

'Repayable loans'

OTTAWA - In confirming it would be lending $350M to Bombardier to help research and develop its new C-series passenger jet, the federal government said the money would be in the form of "repayable loans."  Bombardier's own language creates some doubts on this score. (Ottawa Citizen)

Normalization of corporate welfare   

Money for nothing  

Bombardier

'A massive blow'

Fleet grounded again

Another subsidy set for takeoff 

Corporate welfare

Loss is a big win for taxpayers

 
     

Civil servant accused

MONTREAL - A Quebec Superior Court motion filed by RSM Richter Inc., bankruptcy trustee in the Norbourg scandal, alleges Jean Renaud, one of six men arrested on charges of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering received a $20,000 bribe from Norbourg while he was a civil servant.  (Montreal Gazette)  

 

Norbourg: 922 more charges

Norbourg group faces new charges

Former Norbough head guilty

Former Norbourg CEO convicted of fraud

Quebec regulator lays 51 charges

 
     

Portus guilty plead

TORONTO - Michael Mendelson, one of two men at the centre of Portus Alternative Asset Management's collapse, was handed a two-year prison sentence as part of a surprise guilty plea.  (Financial Post)   PREVIOUS:  OSC: Portus

Inside a stock fraud

VANCOUVER - The future didn't look bright for serial swindler and parolee Michael Lee Mitton when RCMP officers frisked him at Vancouver International Airport on a cloudy June day in 2004.  (Toronto Star)

 
     

Wealthy countries 'allowing corruption to go unchecked'

Wealthy industrialized countries including the UK are allowing overseas bribery to go unchecked through insufficient regulation of their private sectors, an anti-corruption group warned today. The latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index said the poorest countries still had the highest levels of corruption.  (Guardian UK)  

Canada tied for 9th

Canada least corrupt in Americas

War-hit nations head corrupt list

Corruption threats

Global Corruption Report 2008

The capital of corporate corruption

WB: Governance & anti-corruption

Foreign bribery

Canada ignoring corruption

4 major nations are lax on bribes

 
     

Supermarkets and tobacco firm fined for price fixing

LONDON - Supermarkets must pay a multimillion pound fine for ripping off smokers in collusion with Gallaher, the tobacco company.  Asda and Somerfield have admitted fixing the price of cigarettes and overcharging customers under a secret deal with the manufacturer of brands including Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut. (Times Online)

 

Stores raided over 'price fixing'

Groceries market investigation

Supermarket raids over 'price-fix'

Tobacco firms accused of price-fixing

Statement of objections

Taxes 77% of cigarette price

Office of Fair Trading

 
     

Glass cartel fined

BRUSSELS - Four car glass makers have been hit with the European Commission's largest cartel fine after being found guilty of "cheating" car buyers.  Asahi Glass, Pilkington, Saint Gobain and Soliver have been ordered to pay 1.38bn euros ($1.73B). (BBC)   PREVIOUS:  Commission fines car glass producers   Glass makers fined   Price fixing probe   Commission fines flat glass producers

EU Commission's latest cartels

Chocolate maker settlement 

$50M price-fixing suit filed  

Watchdog probing chocolate price fixing   

Chocolate price-fixing probe

FTC to punish firms

Bridgestone   Dunlop Oil & Marine

Trelleborg Industrial AVS   Parker ITR

Manuli Rubber Industries

Yokohama Rubber Company

Japan order tire cartel to break up

 
     

Corporate fraudsters placed on notice, come to Canada

TORONTO - The jail sentences handed down to Livent founder Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb, his long-time business partner, show Canadian courts are getting tougher on white-collar crime, observers say.  However, one US lawyer suggested that the actual jail time that the two men may serve - less than two years before they are eligible for probation - still sends the wrong signal.  Both were released in the afternoon, on bail of $350,000 each, pending appeal.  (Toronto Star) 

White-collar crime doesn't pay, honest

White collar prison term

Founders sent to prison

Guilty of 2 counts of fraud

Garth Drabinsky

The rise & fall of Garth Drabinsky

Guilty of fraud

Co-founders convicted

Showtime: Livent trial  

Livent

Judgment stands  

'Everyone' cooks books  

Livent founders scammed half a billion dollars

 
     

Billionaire charged

SANTA ANA - Federal prosecutors may have charged Broadcom co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III in one of the largest stock-option backdating cases in US history, but it was allegations that the billionaire drugged his business cohorts, hired prostitutes and maintained a drug warehouse that grabbed headlines.   (AP)   MORE:  Billionaire drug bust

Canadians pay more

MONTREAL - Canadian consumers pay up to 60% more than their American cousins on transport and preparation charges on 2008 vehicles even when the car is assembled in Canada, a CAA-Quebec analysis has found.    (Montreal Gazette)  Canadian sues GM, car dealers   Sellers defend cost divide

 
     

Former executive summoned

SEOUL - The investigation is probing claims by Samsung's former chief lawyer Kim Yong-Chul that the group created a multi-million-dollar slush fund to bribe prosecutors, government officials and journalists.  Kim has claimed he had taken part in creating the fund totalling over seven trillion won ($7.5B dollars). (AFP)  PREVIOUS:    Samsung Chairman's office raided   Lee Kun-hee

BA & Virgin to pay out refunds

LONDON - British Airways and Virgin Atlantic passengers who were cheated in a price-fixing scam will receive $200M in compensation after the airlines agreed a legal settlement.     (Guardian UK)   PREVIOUS:  British Airways fined

 
     

Has Greece been set alight by property developers?

ATHENS - Rogue property developers have been accused of starting the forest fires that continue to destroy large swathes of Greece.  (Daily Mail)   PREVIOUS:   Greek fires blamed on 'culture of arson'    Mother's decision to flee a modern Greek tragedy  63 dead in Greek forest fires

ESL teachers left in limbo in Japan

TOKYO - An estimated 4,000 foreign teachers, including about 660 from Canada, are without jobs after Japan's largest school chain, Nova Group, closed its 900 schools and declared bankruptcy yesterday. (Toronto Star)   MORE:  Teachers trapped as English school goes bust   

 
     

Aquilini wins Canucks case

VANCOUVER - BC Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge has confirmed Francesco Aquilini’s contested ownership of the Vancouver Canucks.  In a lengthy judgment released Thursday, Justice Wedge said that the well-known developer did nothing illegal when in Nov. 2004 he purchased half the hockey team from US billionaire John McCaw.  The decision is a heavy blow to Tom Galardi and Ryan Beedie.  It is estimated they spent some $15 million on the suit and now face the prospect of having to pay for Aquilini's costs, too.  (Vancouver Sun)   PREVIOUS:  Canucks ownership on trial

Farmers complain of 'ruthless buyers'

LONDON - The messages were allegedly sent by Tesco and Asda, warning suppliers to reduce the price at which they sell their food to the retailers - or face being axed.  The emails, understood to contain threatening and aggressive language, have been unearthed by the Government's monopolies watchdog, the Competition Commission. They emerged as the watchdog investigated the practices of the "Big Four" chains - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - as part of a two-year inquiry into their national dominance. (Telegraph UK)

 
     

IMI facing US inquiry

LONDON - IMI, one of the UK’s oldest engineering companies faces an investigation by the US Department of Justice after uncovering a potential multimillion-pound kickback scandal at a Californian-based subsidiary.    (Times online)

Former CEO to forfeit $52M

DENVER - A federal judge ordered former Qwest Communications chief executive Joseph Nacchio, convicted of insider trading, to forfeit $52 million in assets he gained in illegal stock sales.  (AP)  PREVIOUS:  The Joe Nacchio trial

 
     

US list for business links to 'terrorist haven'

Ottawa's Zarlink Semiconductor Inc. and two blue-chip Canadian companies have been placed on a controversial U.S. government "name-and-shame" list for doing business in countries the US considers sponsors of terrorism.  (CanWest)

MORE:  Countries the Secretary of State has designated as state sponsors of terrorism

Insurer must pay $9M

LOS ANGELES - A Southern California woman who had her medical coverage cancelled as she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer was awarded more than $9 million Friday in a case against one of California's largest health insurers.  (San Francisco Chronicle)   PREVIOUS:  LA city attorney sues Health Net   Health Net

 
     

Melnyk charged

TORONTO - The US Securities and Exchange Commission said Canada's biggest publicly traded drug maker agreed to pay $10 million US to settle charges against the company.  But the stock market regulator said it will press on with its case against Eugene Melnyk as well as Biovail's former chief financial officer Brian Crombie, its current chief financial officer Kenneth Howling and controller John Miszuk. (CanWest)

 

OSC, SEC lay charges against Biovail

Biovail misled investigators

Drug company Biovail's legal woes

Melnyk borrowed more than $100M

OSC: Reasons For Decision   .pdf

 
     

Alcan ruling upheld

KITIMAT - The BC Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling by the BC Supreme Court allowing Rio Tinto Alcan to sell power from the Kemano station with no obligation to smelt aluminium.  (CanWest)

BC Court of Appeal 2009 BCCA 0067

2007 electricity purchase agreement   .pdf    

Commission approves Alcan power deal

Hydro-Alcan 'sweetheart' deal quashed

BC Hydro   Rio Tinto Alcan

BC Utilities Commission

BC Hydro in secret Alcan pact

Caifunds Special Investors

Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto's Alcan faces EU competition probe

China takes stake in Rio

 
     

$87.4M fine

WASHINGTON - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined British oil company BP $87.4M, the largest penalty the federal agency has ever issued for safety violations.  (LA Times)   MORE:  OSHA issues record breaking fines   Texas City refinery explosion   Watchdog points finger at cost cuts

Texas City refinery fire March 2005

Millions misled over airport prices

LONDON - BAA, the airport operator, has misled millions of passengers about prices at shops and bars in its terminals, according to the advertising watchdog.  It has been forced to withdraw leaflets claiming that passengers are paying the same prices as in their local high street. . (Times online)

 
     

Pentagon feels a bit overbilled

WASHINGTON - A small South Carolina parts supplier collected about $20.5 million over six years from the Pentagon for fraudulent shipping costs, including $998,798 for sending two 19-cent washers to a Texas base, US officials said. (Bloomberg)

Hundreds of charges in Mont Real investment scandal

MONTREAL - Quebec's financial sector regulator has filed 619 charges against two dozen advisers with Mont Real Corp. in a securities scandal that saw thousands of investors lose as much as $140 million.  (CBC)

 
     

CEO resigns, accounting errors

TORONTO - Research In Motion Ltd. announced on Monday that accounting errors related to stock options grants will result in the Waterloo-based company taking a hit of about US$250-million on previous earnings.  (Financial Post)

Wolfowitz resigns

WASHINGTON - Paul Wolfowitz, the president of the World Bank, said last night he would resign on June 30, ending a protracted battle over his stewardship sparked by a promotion he arranged for his girlfriend.  (Telegraph UK) 

 
     

WestJet clients scammed

CALGARY - WestJet is under fire from angry customers who were victimized in a scam involving the airline's transferrable flight credits. (Edmonton Journal)   

Chiquita admits to paying terrorists

Banana company Chiquita Brands International said Wednesday it has agreed to a $25 million fine after admitting it paid terrorists for protection in a volatile farming region of Colombia.  (AP)

 
     

Jim Cramer: Here's how to cheat

NEW YORK - Stock market commentator and CNBC television host Jim Cramer  has raised eyebrows after describing illegal activities used by hedge fund managers to manipulate stock prices.  In a December video interview on the Web site of TheStreet.com, a financial news company he co-founded, Cramer, while never saying he used such tactics himself, described how it was possible to push stocks higher or lower at his previous job running a hedge fund.   (Reuters)   MORE:  Jim Cramer backpedals 

Cole's dirty dozen to face jail

CANBERRA: - Eleven former executives of wheat exporter AWB could face criminal charges and jail terms of up to 10 years after the Cole inquiry found they had engaged in an elaborate deception that illegally funnelled $290 million to Saddam Hussein's regime and cast a shadow over Australia's international reputation.  (Australian)    MORE:  Australian inquiry says exporter mislead UN   Editorial: Cole shows depth of AWB deceit   Oil-For-Food: The Canadian Connection

 
     

Contracts veiled in secrecy

OTTAWA - The Defence Department is keeping secret the names of dozens of companies that received almost $42 million worth of contracts in Afghanistan.  However, an analysis by CanWest News Service suggests that more than $1.1 million in business has been awarded to an Afghan company that bears the same name as one of Kandahar's most infamous warlords.  (Ottawa Citizen)     MORE:  Afghan war a business for some   Business of war

$1M fine handed to Great Glasses

TORONTO - The man behind southern Ontario's Great Glasses empire has been fined a record $1 million for blatantly violating a court order for three years.  Bruce Bergez, a Dundas optician, has been found guilty of civil contempt for ignoring a 2003 order that requires Bergez and the Great Glasses stores to comply with Ontario legislation that governs the prescribing and dispensing of eyeglasses and contact lenses.  (Hamilton Spectator)

 
     

The Siemens scandal

FRANKFURT - When Siemens, Europe’s biggest engineering firm, adopted the slogan “be inspired” in the mid-1990s, bribery was not what it had in mind. But no one can accuse its managers of lacking inspiration when it came to devising novel ways to funnel huge sums in backhanders to corrupt officials and politicians across the globe.  (Economist) 

Ex-boss arrested

Where bribery was just a line item

Boss admits setting up slush funds

Siemens ordered to pay for bribery gains

Siemens managers convicted

 
     

Airbus in a spin over insider trading

PARIS - France's stock market regulator is investigating top executives at Airbus, its parent company European Aeronautic Defense and Space (EADS), and major EADS shareholders DaimlerChrysler and defense conglomerate Lagardere over alleged insider trading that occurred between late 2005 and mid-2006.  (Forbes)

Noel Forgeard

Former EADS chief detained by police

Insider trading scandal

Insider dealing scandal threatens Airbus

French government on the defensive over EADS

French paper faces action over EADS claim

 
     

Another flaw in the rule of laws

TORONTO - In May, 1997, nearly $9-billion in stock market value disappeared as a result of the Bre-X Minerals Ltd. gold swindle.  A decade later, no one has gone to jail, paid a fine or been forced to make restitution.   (Financial Post)  

Ruling angers duped Bre-X investors

Bre-X reveals Canada's poor corporate crime fight

Bre-X

Bre-X saga

Bre-X geologist may not be dead

 
     

US mulls request to extradite

BUENOS AIRES - Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan who also holds U.S. citizenship, was detained Aug. 4 at a Buenos Aires airport after authorities found $800,000 in undeclared cash in his luggage. Wilson, who had been aboard a small airplane carrying Argentine and Venezuelan energy officials, abandoned the money at the airport and left the country without being questioned.  (Washington Post)  

The suitcase scandal

Maletinazo (the suitcase scandal)

Chavez says 'nothing to hide'

Chavez proposes changes to constitution 

Chavez gets 'unchecked powers'

Belarus offers Venezuela anti-aircraft & weapons

Chavez grants Belarus rights to oil fields

Chavez silences critical TV station

Venezuela poised to become another Zimbabwe

Chavez seizes oil groups' control

The return of the idiot

Venezuela a hot spot for drug trafficking

Venezuela steps up land seizures

Chavez threat to seize food shops

Chavez: New currency to be introduced

Venezuela to seize foreign oil projects

 
     

'Click Fraud' threatens foundation of web ads

WASHINGTON - From her home surrounded by cornfields in Dow City, Iowa, Jackie Park spends hours each day on her computer, earning half a penny every time she clicks on an Internet advertisement. Park is one of thousands of people around the world who receive e-mailed lists of Web sites every day to click on for cash. (Washington Post)  PREVIOUS:   Wikipedia: Click fraud   Microsoft sues Vancouver family

Fatality at Cameco mine day after another floods

MCARTHUR RIVER - A 46-year-old man from Regina was killed Monday afternoon at Cameco Corp.'s McArthur River mine, approximately 620 kilometres north of Saskatoon.  The death came roughly 24 hours after a flood devastated Cameco's Cigar Lake mine, an incident that has raised questions about the immediate future of the $12-billion uranium ore body in northern Saskatchewan.  (Star Phoenix)  

 
     

Ontario budget's handout to Magna

TORONTO - The Ontario government is giving auto-parts maker Magna International Inc. $50-million as part of a plan to tackle climate change.  But opposition politicians are questioning why the company's name does not appear anywhere in this week's budget documents.

Magna loses bid for Chrysler Group to Cerberus

Stronach's leaving politics

Belinda Stronach

Boardroom over Commons

Belinda won't claim severance

Onex, Magna eye bid for Chrysler

Ontario's $50m Magna budget handout

Magna puts in bid to buy Chrysler Group

 
     

Planes still flying with same problem as TWA 800

Ten years after the explosion of TWA Flight 800, the very problem that led to the disaster still has not been fully fixed -- despite a warning from the Federal Aviation Administration that it is "virtually certain to occur" again without additional safeguards.  (CNN)

Martha Stewart settles SEC charges

NEW YORK - The Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday that it has agreed to settle insider trading charges against Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic relating to Stewart's sale of ImClone Systems stock in December 2001.   (CNN Money)

 
     

States to sue chip makers over price fixing

SAN FRANCISCO/TOKYO - Global computer memory chip makers including Samsung Electronics Co. and Micron Technology Inc. were sued on Thursday by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for allegedly conspiring to raise memory chip prices.    (Reuters)

FCC questions TV stations on 'Fake News'

WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission has mailed letters to the owners of 77 television stations inquiring about their use of video news releases, a type of programming critics refer to as "fake news."   (AP)   PREVIOUS:  Fake TV news

 
     

Secrets behind 'viral' videos

Have you ever watched a video with 100,000 views on YouTube and thought to yourself: “How the hell did that video get so many views?” Chances are pretty good that this didn’t happen naturally, but rather that some company worked hard to make it happen – some company like mine.  (TechCrunch)  PREVIOUS:  Media manipulation

Money seizures

VANCOUVER - In April, former Vancouver resident Calvin Ayre caught industry observers by surprise when he announced he was quitting his online gambling empire, Bodog, purportedly to regain his privacy and further his charitable activities. (Vancouver Sun)   PREVIOUS:  Morris Mohawk refutes story   Playing cat and mouse with authorities   Vancouver's other billionaire

 
     

Journal editors knew of Dow offer

WASHINGTON - Some Wall Street Journal editors knew that News Corp. was making a $5 billion bid for the paper’s parent, Dow Jones & Co., at least a week before the news broke elsewhere, but they did not publish it, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.  (MSNBC)

Corporation threatens to 'repossess' plot

OTTAWA -  Pay up or we'll dig up their graves.  Mr. Blake said the Les Jardins du Souvenir told him that his family had to pay $35 to lease each square foot of the plot because "perpetual" actually means 99 years.  (Ottawa Citizen)

 
     

Halting inquiry was lawful

LONDON - The House of Lords ruled that the Serious Fraud Office acted lawfully in stopping an inquiry into bribery allegations during an arms deal between Saudi Arabia and BAE Systems.  The five law lords unanimously overturned a high court decision in April that Tony Blair's government and the SFO caved in too readily to threats by Saudi Arabia over intelligence sharing and trade.  (Guardian UK)  

Lords says SFO Saudi move lawful

How Saudi Arabia pressured Blair

Bid to block fraud investigations

SFO wrong to drop BAE inquiry

SFO 'surrender' over inquiry was illegal

Secret papers reveal threats

Bandar bin Sultan

Fresh criticism over BAE inquiry

Organisation for Economic Co-operation

Blair called for BAE inquiry to be halted

Blair: Blame me for BAE

AG knew of BAE and concealed it

Arms deal investigators probe BAE payments

Black money

BAE pays fines

BAE chiefs 'linked to bribes conspiracy'  

Blair joins investment bank

Blair joins JP Morgan as $1M a year adviser

BAE accused of secretly paying Saudi prince

Arms deal

Britain rapped over Saudi arms move

Pressure builds on Blair over weapons probe

Legal move over halted BAE probe

Blair: I pushed for end to Saudi arms inquiry

Very British solution to Saudi problem

Lebanese is drawn into BAE arms deal inquiry

Living with a time bomb

French angle for Saudi billions

Saudi arms deal inquiry closes in on secret

Saudis in threat to cut ties to Britain

Fraud office is investigating deal agreed by Blair

BAE Systems

BAE files

BAE wins aircraft contract

Saudi prince 'received arms cash'

Prince Bandar bin Sultan

Swiss launch bribery probe into BAE

UK condemned for failure to tackle bribery

Phase 2 bis report on the UK   .pdf

 
     

Microsoft is accused by EU again

BRUSSELS - The European Commission has accused Microsoft of harming competition by bundling its Explorer web browser with its operating system. (BBC)   PREVIOUS:   EU Microsoft antitrust case  Court Dismisses appeal   Microsoft fined   Deal in EU Microsoft antitrust case   Microsoft admits code theft from Canadian company  

Microsoft pulls a 'New Coke’

MONTREAL - Consumers buying personal computers in the coming months will likely end up with Microsoft's reputation-bruised Windows Vista operating system instead of the older XP system, whether they like it or not.  (CTV)  PREVIOUS:  New Coke   Operating system

 

Train crash puzzles officials

EDMONTON - Another CN train went off the tracks over the weekend, making it two wrecks in one week for the shipping giant.  (Metro)   Derailment deliberate   Edmonton Journal photos

Ottawa orders CN Rail to remove faulty wheels

Transportation Safety Board

Audit reveals safety problems

Train derailment spills hydrogen chloride

CN train derailment a 'ride from hell'

CN fire near Prince George

Toxic spill could cost CN another $3.5M

CN Rail spill near sterilized BC river

Last moments on a deadly train

Engineer baffled by his surviva

Two dead after train derails north of Lilloett

Another CN derailment in BC

Toxic spill triggers evacuation in BC

CN train cars derail near Lions Bay

CN creates another bad PR event

Safety board probes derailments

No traces of chemical

Glycol leaks from rail cars

CP Rail confirms holes

Charges laid over oil spill in Robson Bight

     

Boeing to settle federal suits for $615M

Boeing Co. has agreed to pay $615 million to end a three-year Justice Department investigation into reported defense contracting scandals, a published report said Monday.  (AP)   Boeing pays $15M fine

Hyundai Motor chairman arrested

SEOUL - Hyundai Automotive Group chairman Chung Mong-koo was arrested Friday night on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust for his role in creating slush funds worth W130 billion (US $130 million) and causing damage worth W390 billion to the company.  (Chosun)

DuPoint data hid risks

WASHINGTON - DuPont Co. hid studies showing the risks of a Teflon-related chemical used to line candy wrappers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags and hundreds of other food containers, according to internal company documents and a former employee.  (AP)PERVIOUS:  Fisherman wins $14M from DuPont

EU issues 'unsafe' airlines ban

The European Union has issued a blacklist banning 92 airlines from operating in the region, saying they fail to meet international standards.   Most of the airlines are based in Africa, including 50 carriers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 14 from Sierra Leone and seven from Swaziland.  (BBC)

IRS hits Nortel with $3B tax claim

OTTAWA - The US tax authorities have thrown a huge curve ball at Nortel creditors by submitting a $3B US claim for back taxes, interest and other penalties.  (Ottawa Citizen)

Nortel boosts CEO's pay

Canadian politics would kill any potential sale

Nortel's pension deficit

Nortel files for bankruptcy in US

Nortel board of directors

Nortel execs put on notice

Nortel agrees to pay $2.5B US to settle lawsuits

Former Nortel execs charged

Nortel

Court orders snarl severances

Ex-Nortel execs charged

Frank Dunn

Nortel to pay $1M

Will 'wet noodle' ruling put scandal to rest?

OSC approves Nortel deal

SEC to fine Nortel $100M: report

SEC plans to fine Nortel in enforcement test

Former Nortel execs charged

Nortel Networks

Ontario Securities Commission

Nortel may turn lessor patents

$1.4-billion Canadian radios fail troops

KANDAHAR - When Canadian soldiers venture into the dangerous foothills and mountains north of Kandahar, they must jury-rig a U.S. satellite radio to communicate with home base because their $1.4-billion Canadian system has about the same range as a walkie-talkie. (National Post)  MORE:  General Dynamics of Canada    General Dynamics

Kenny gets testy on stand

LAS VEGAS - Despite pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars, it never occurred to former Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny that she might have to pay back taxes, late fees and interest on cash bribes she accepted while in office, she testified Monday.  (Review-Journal)   PREVIOUS:  Galardi names politicians on his payroll    Vegas politicians admits she took bribes from Ghermezian company  

     

Corporate spying via dumpster diving

EDISON, NJ - Jerry Treppel doesn't usually keep tabs on his trash. But one morning last fall, he checked to see if it had been collected and noticed something strange.  “I opened it up and there was one bag, sitting on the bottom of both cans,” he says.  Treppel, who's involved in a lawsuit against a Canadian pharmaceutical firm, was suspicious and hired a private investigator.   (CBS)

Ex-AIG chief shorted foundation

ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday accused embattled insurance executive Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg of participating in a series of financial transactions 35 years ago that cost the charitable foundation of his mentor $6 billion.  (AP)  PREVIOUS:  Marsh pays $850m to end charges   New York AG sues Marsh over Contingent Commissions   Spitzer widens insurance probe   New York Attorney General

Cruise line tired to seal records over 2001-air crash

SEATTLE - Holland America went to "significant lengths" to keep secret damaging documents discovered by the families of Washington state residents who were killed in 2001 on a flight arranged by the cruise company, the families' lead attorney, Bradley Keller, said yesterday.  (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Dutch brewers fined over cartel

Dutch brewers including Heineken and Grolsch have been fined a total of 273.7m euros by European regulators for price fixing.  The European Commission has penalised Heineken, Grolsch and Bavaria for stifling competition by sharing pricing policy and levels.  (BBC)   RELATED:  More dangerous goods banned in EU

     

Back-door investigation

TORONTO - The provincial government is under investigation to see if it's properly monitoring nursing homes after reports of neglect in the facilities where 75,000 vulnerable Ontarians live.  But that's only because Ombudsman Andre Marin can't do what he really wants: Directly investigate complaints about substandard care in nursing homes.  (Toronto Star)  

Royal Crest nursing home

Police probe nursing home death

Coroner probes 2nd nursing home

Nursing home death probed

The Royal Crest File

Help Me: elder abuse in Canada

Slow fix

Leisureworld

Probe into monitoring of nursing homes

1 in 9 nursing homes 'high risk'

 
     

Court orders arrest of retired-CEO

NEW DELHI - An Indian court issued a warrant Friday for the arrest of the former head of the American chemical company responsible for a gas leak that killed at least 10,000 people in Bhopal 25 years ago.  Warren Anderson was the head of Union Carbide Corp. when its factory in the central Indian city leaked 40 tons of poisonous gas on Dec. 3, 1984.   (AP)

Wife: Man wanted in Bhopal gas leak 'haunted'

Court asks CBI to arrest Anderson

World 'failed' Bhopal gas victims

BBC Indepth: Bhopal

Union Carbide: The Incident, Response and Settlement

Bhopal disaster

 

Former Qwest CEO indicted

DENVER - Former Qwest Communications CEO Joseph Nacchio was indicted Tuesday on 42 counts of insider trading accusing him of illegally selling off $101 million in stock after privately learning his company faced a series of financial risks.  (AP)

Lawsuit accuses Arab Bank of aiding terrorists

NEW YORK - Six families of U.S. citizens killed or hurt in terrorist attacks in the Middle East have filed an $875 million lawsuit against the  Arab Bank, accusing it of financing terrorist actions in Israel and the West Bank.  (CNN)  

3 more banks to pay up

A federal judge gave final approval Wednesday for three more banks to pay $6.6 billion to settle civil claims that they helped Enron Corp. manipulate earnings.   US District Judge Melinda Harmon approved the deals with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc.