|
|
| Corporate Scandals page 2 | |
|
An analysis of 5 years of financial reports from 10 of Canada's largest companies found that CEOs made an average of 227 times the average employee working for that same company. Top executives, including the CEO, made on average 106 times more than the company's average employee. Over the 2012-2016 period, the gap widened in 6 of 10 companies surveyed. (Huffington Post) |
Top capturing growing share of total income Home affordability to deteriorate |
|
LONDON - The British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has agreed to settle a string of legal claims over phone hacking. (IOL) |
|
|
MONTREAL - Quebec's investment arm wants its money back from a US company that abruptly closed three Canadian call centres laying off more than 1200 workers. (CBC) |
|
|
EDMONTON - 2 seniors say they are 'devastated' after their travel medical insurance policy was cancelled, leaving them on the hook for almost $105,000 for a five-day hospital stay in Arizona. (CBC) |
|
|
Junior bankers laid off for cheating NEW YORK - Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have sacked dozens of analysts in their New York office after discovering they cheated to pass basic math exams. (Daily Mail) |
|
|
DETROIT - The FBI's mission to bring dirty politicians to justice in the suburbs set off a series of cascading events. And dozens of communities learned that the bright red Rizzo trucks that pick up their trash will be no more. (Detroit Free Press) |
Corruption investigation |
|
WASHINGTON - The US Justice Department is attempting to recover $34M, the cash value of shares Calgary-based Griffiths Energy used to bribe the Republic of Chad's former ambassador to the US and Canada. In 2013, the former Griffiths Energy company pleaded guilty in court to bribing Chad diplomat Mahamoud Adam Bechir, 50. (Global) |
|
|
OTTAWA - Nearly two-thirds of penalties levied by provincial securities regulators across Canada in the past 5 years have not been paid. That means of the $444M in penalties levied, $285M has not been paid. (CBC) |
OTTAWA - An Ottawa company has been fined $125,000 after pleading guilty to bid-rigging on federal real estate advisory contracts. Corporate Research Group Ltd. pleaded guilty in an Ottawa court to a criminal charge of bid-rigging. (CBC) |
|
SAN FRANCISCO - A US judge granted final approval to a $415M settlement that ends a high profile lawsuit in which workers accused Apple Inc, Google Inc, Intel Corp and Adobe Systems Inc of agreeing to avoid poaching each other's employees. (Reuters) |
|
|
NEW YORK - The Bank of China knowingly laundered money for various Islamic militant groups so they could get around transaction restrictions because of their label as a "terrorist organization" by the US government, a lawsuit by Israeli victims of suicide bombings claims. (Fox) |
LONDON - The City of London Corporation has invested at least £100M ($160M) of public money in land purchases that opponents claim will enhance the value of neighbouring developments by the property company that employs the lord mayor. (Guardian UK) Michael Bear Hammerson |
|
NEW YORK -
Facebook's imminent stock sale risks putting public stock markets to
shame. Investors will surely clamour for a piece of the social
network. (Reuters) MORE:
Facts learned from IPO paperwork
IPO not for the average Joe |
Corruption charges LONDON - Police
allege that the payments were in connection with contracts with US
aluminum maker
Alcoa Inc., for supplies of alumina
shipped to
Aluminum
Bahrain, a smelting company with a
majority state ownership. MORE:
Bahrain chases losses |
|
Convicted TURIN - A Swiss billionaire and a Belgian baron were found guilty and sentenced to 16 years each in prison by an Italian court in a groundbreaking trial over 3,000 alleged asbestos-related deaths. |
Strong’s protégé headed for jail
Quebec asbestos industry mulls convictions |
|
OTTAWA - Biker gangs and the Mafia are dabbling in Canada's money markets, according to a new report. (QMI) |
THETFORD MINES - 7 people have pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix gas prices in Thetford Mines. (CTV) |
|
CHARLOTTETOWN - A group of companies who built the new Holman Grand Hotel have filed liens against the building, with the company that built it having filed for creditor protection. (CBC) PREVIOUS: Government loans $30M to Homburg companies |
TORONTO - The head of an insolvent mortgage company unloaded $2.2M in gold and silver from his car at a Rexdale parking lot at night, according to his own testimony, and handed it to a man who has since disappeared. (Toronto Star) |
|
VANCOUVER - A BC court will hear a lawsuit
accusing international diamond behemoth
De Beers
and other diamond producers of a conspiracy to fix prices for the
precious jewels. (CTV) |
VANCOUVER - Ronald James Conn and his wife
Sze Man "Ella" Conn were arrested after a lengthy investigation by
the BC Security Commission's Criminal Investigations Team and the
VPD. (CTV) |
|
Canadian consumer groups are warning about
Vortex Debt Group, a US based debt resettlement company that is now operating in Canada,
following numerous complaints from consumers who allege they were left
with less money and more debt. (CBC) |
MONTREAL - The alleged network is accused of
evading more than $150M dollars in provincial tax on $1.8B in sales
revenue - and also cheating Ottawa out of its GST take. (CTV)
MORE:
High profile gold trader probed
KITCO
|
|
TOKYO - Japan’s
Olympus admitted it hid losses on
securities investments dating back to the 1980s, bowing to weeks of
pressure to explain a series of baffling transactions that have put
the future of the firm in doubt. (Reuters)
PREVIOUS:
Huge fees
Zooming in on the scandal
Michael Woodford |
VANCOUVER - The
analysis, published on the blogsite,
Alfred Little, accuses
Silvercorp
Metals Inc, a Vancouver-based company
that operates two silver, lead, and zinc mines in China, of grossly
inflating the value of its mining output in its reports to
regulators. (Tyee) MORE:
Silvercorp stung by report
BC securities commission probe |
|
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark ruling on what constitutes a corporate trade secret under the Access to Information Act. (CP) |
LONDON -
PVM Oil
Futures trader Steve Perkins bought 7M barrels of crude in
late-night trading binge on his laptop, driving the oil price to an
eight-month high. (Telegraph UK) |
|
HALIFAX - The former CEO of defunct tech firm Knowledge House has been
sentenced to 5 years in prison, and the company's former lawyer to 4
and a half years, for a fraud the Crown estimated at $86M.
CEO Daniel Potter, 66, and lawyer Blois Colpitts, 55, were
found guilty in March.
(CP)MORE:
Prison terms
Insiders guilty
Fraud charges |
LONDON - The British government has halted
bidding for a $9.7B defence contract after a BC company was found to
have sensitive information. Britain's Department for Transport
says police are investigating how the information found its way to CHC
Helicopter of Vancouver. (CP) MORE:
Police probe
irregularities |
|
|
|
|
BRUSSELS -
The consumer products giants
Unilever and
Procter &
Gamble have been fined 315m euros ($456M) for fixing washing
powder prices in eight European countries. It follows a
three-year investigation by the European Commission following a
tip-off by the German company,
Henkel. (BBC) |
Fraud allegations
TORONTO - The
OSC has made formal fraud allegations
against
Sino-Forest Corp and several of its
former executives following nearly a year of investigations into the
collapsed forestry firm. PREVIOUS:
Trading halted
Execs ordered to resign |
|
Shareholders pursue another claim
WINNIPEG - Crocus shareholder Bernie
Bellan convinced some lawyers to file a class-action suit against
Crocus Investment
Fund officers and directors and
some of its professional service providers several years ago.
PREVIOUS:
Crocus investment
fund receiver
Commercial crime a
Canadian growth industry |
EDMONTON - Following a two-year police investigation, a 36-year-old Edmonton businessman is facing 74 fraud and theft-related charges. Vimal Iyer, who is the CEO of Trident Properties, is alleged to have promoted and sold undivided interests to 120 investors in three different land developments NE of Edmonton. (CTV) |
|
OTTAWA - An 8-year investigation into allegations of price fixing in the chocolate candy business has concluded after charges against Nestle Canada and a former executive were stayed. No reason was given for the Crown's decision. (AP) |
|
|
HAMILTON - Ontario Superior Court Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel decided in favour of the Pittsburgh-based corporation on claims that the more than $2.2B it invested in the Canadian operations in Hamilton and Nanticoke are debts to be repaid, not cash infusions in the ongoing operation of the business. (CBC) |
US steel wants to suspend payments of benefits and property taxes |
|
TORONTO - An investigation tracked online ticket listings for the
Toronto
Blue Jays' 2018 home opener and found that the average price for
online seats was 205% of face value - with the club getting a cut of
each online sale. (Toronto
Star) |
|
|
TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty says he’s “all ears” to a proposal that could return $1B to Ontarians from the owners of Hwy 407. (Star) |
|
|
BRUSSELS - EU regulators fined Google a record $2.7B, ruling that the search-engine giant violated antitrust rules for its online shopping practices. The fine is the largest doled out by Brussels for a monopoly abuse case and follows a 7-year-long investigation. (CNBC) |
European Commission press release |
|
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Ecuadorian villagers have the right to use an Ontario court to seek billions in environmental damages from oil giant Chevron. The court has dismissed an appeal by Chevron to block the suit in Ontario. (CP) |
|
|
KABUL - Mr Karzai declared handouts from the CIA and MI6 are an "easy source of petty cash" for his government as it attempts to seal alliances with powerful regional warlords and secure defections from the Taliban. (Telegraph UK) |
|
|
Bronfman Jr convicted PARIS - A French court has fined Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. $6.7M for misleading investors about the Vivendi media conglomerate when he was a top executive there. |
|
|
The US insurance giant AIG has agreed to pay $725M to settle a long-running fraud case against it. The settlement is likely to be one of the biggest in US history, following a class action lawsuit led by 3 Ohio pension funds. (BBC) |
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 |
|
NEWPORT NEWS, Vr - 2 Canadian private eyes have been jailed in the US for bilking clients in an international scheme that involved bogus promises of offshore millions. Cullen Johnson, 65, and Elaine White, 70, were first exposed in a Star investigation 5 years ago. (Toronto Star) |
|
|
WASHINGTON - The US government announced a $1.2B settlement with Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday and filed a criminal charge alleging the company defrauded consumers by issuing misleading statements about safety issues in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. (AP) |
|
|
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. |
|
|
MUNICH - Austria filed a lawsuit against Airbus and the
Eurofighter consortium, alleging wilful deception and fraud linked
to a $2.1B order for Eurofighter jets in 2003.
The deal was controversial from the outset and allegations
surfaced almost immediately after its announcement in 2003 that
money was pocketed by politicians, civil servants and others via
brokers for side deals accompanying the purchase.
(Reuters) |
Airbus group investigation SFO WTO panel report on Boeing dispute EU loans to Airbus deemed illegal |
|
VANCOUVER - BC firm Stave Lake Quarries and 2 individuals are facing a rare charge of criminal negligence in the 2007 death of Kelsey Anne Kristian, who was killed on her second day working at a quarry. (CBC) |
|
|
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) |
2006 Cote d'Ivoire toxic waste dump Minton report .pdf |
|
ORIENTALE PROVINCE - At least 60 miners have been killed after a shaft collapsed in a gold mine in NE Democratic Republic of Congo. (BBC) |
|
|
Judge backs RIM in patent battle Research in Motion (RIM) said a US judge had ruled the company had not infringed on Mformation Technologies Inc's patent and overturned an award of $147.2M. (Reuters) PREVIOUS: RIM hit $77M charge RIM faces record penalty |
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) |
|
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 |
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 |
|
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 |
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) |
|
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) |
BRUSSELS - The EU Commission has fined nine firms a total of $948m for operating what it called a price-fixing "paraffin mafia". 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) |
|
EDMONTON - Timothy (Tim) Ray Carruthers, 59, is facing charges after
allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme valued at $5.5M for nearly a
decade. (CTV)
Mortgage company deceived investors |
W5: Who is protecting your investments? |
|
Corporate insolvency documents |
|
|
Hiring city officers for protection Global oil scam 50 times bigger than Madoff Associate found dead Jeffry Picower "Whole government is a Ponzi scheme" |
Loan shop files for bankruptcy Shire International Real Estate Investment OSC investigating Ponzi scheme |
|
Billions ‘gone to money heaven' Ottawa-provinces face off over pensions Jones scared, may need protection |
Stanford surrenders to federal agents Latin Americans fret as crisis spreads |
|
SASKATOON - The 3 biggest SK potash producers have settled antitrust lawsuits in the US, but deny they did anything wrong. The settlements are subject to court approval. (CBC) |
|
|
TORONTO - The Ontario government will try to revoke the licence of Cash Store Financial Services, one of the biggest cash advance stores in the country. (CBC) |
|
|
NEW YORK - US bank JP Morgan Chase is to pay $264M to settle claims it hired the children of highly placed Chinese officials to gain business in China. The bank will pay the SEC $130M for violations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It is also expected to pay $72M to the US Justice Department and $61.9M to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. (BBC) |
|
|
OTTAWA - The head of Canada's financial crime watchdog agency (FINTRAC)
is second-guessing his decision last year to withhold the name of a
bank - which CBC Investigates has identified as Manulife
Bank of Canada - fined $1.15M for not reporting hundreds of
transactions it was obligated to report under the Proceeds
of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.
(CBC) |
Dreier charged for impersonating SCC removes power to search law firms Lawyers don't have to divulge clients' secrets |
|
WASHINGTON - For more than three decades, the World Bank has maintained a set of 'safeguard' policies that it claims have brought about a more humane and democratic system of economic development. Governments that borrow money from the bank can't force people from their homes without warning. (Huff Post) |
World Bank |
|
NEW YORK - Offshore drilling contractor Transocean Ltd has agreed to pay $1.4B to settle US government charges arising from BP Plc's massive Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. (AFP) |
Total clear in French explosion 2001 Toulouse chemical factory explosion 2005 Hertfordshire oil storage terminal fire |
|
Global airlines are expected to earn a record $82B this year by charging customers extra for everything from seat assignment to baggage fees to travel commissions. And Air Canada is among the top ten airlines in the world when it comes to earning this so-called ancillary revenue, racking up nearly $1.18B last year, according to reports from IdeaWorksCompany, a company that tracks airline revenue. (CBC) 2017 Global estimate .pdf |
New rules
Railway union vows to fight recorders
|
|
MONTREAL - Canadian transport giant Bombardier has won hundreds of
millions in international contracts to supply transit systems across
the world. But a year-long Globe and Mail investigation reveals a
pattern of middlemen, 'success fee' payments - and allegations of
corruption. (Globe & Mail)
|
Bombardier thanks Canada for $1B bailout Suppressing government funding info Feds study Bombardier request for a bailout Bombardier loses $4.9B in 3rd quarter |
|
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: Glass makers fined |
|
|
Corporate fraudsters placed on notice 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) |
|
|
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) |
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 |
|
LONDON - The chief executive of mining giant Rio Tinto has resigned after the company announced a $14B write-down. The company's aluminum assets saw a write-down in the range of $10B-$11B. This is largely related to the company's purchase of Canadian aluminum giant Alcan in 2007. (BBC) |
|
|
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. (Reuters) MORE: Jim Cramer backpedals |
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) |
|
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) |
|
|
CALGARY - Years of court battles led by investors trying to recover billions of dollars lost in the Bre-X scandal came to an end in Calgary. (CBC) |
Request from bankruptcy trustees |
|
DETROIT - The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fined automaker Fiat Chrysler (FCA) a record $105M for poorly executing 23 vehicle safety recalls covering more than 11M defective vehicles over several years. (AP) |
|
|
Planes still flying with same problem 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) |
|
MARYLAND - A federal grand jury in the US has indicted four Canadians who operated the popular online gaming company bodog.com, accusing the company of conducting an illegal sports gambling business and conspiring to commit money laundering. Charged are Canadian billionaire and Bodog founder Calvin Ayre, along with James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney. (PostMedia) |
2006 SAFE Port Act add-on law Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 |
|
BRUSSELS - The EU Commission has fined Microsoft Corp. $733M for breaking the terms of an earlier agreement to offer users a choice of internet browser. (AP) |
|
|
When Nortel Networks Corp. slipped under a dark cloud of bankruptcy protection in Jan 2009, concerns turned first to the people who'd lost money and the financial catastrophe that would ensue. But the company also left a legacy of environmental damage across ON, and taxpayers could end up paying to clean them up. (CBC) |
Nortel site symbolizes military challenge Bankruptcy czars ask to investigate fees |
|
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 $6B. (AP) |
Marsh pays $850m to end charges |
|
Cruise line tired to seal records 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. (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 |
|
Halliburton, KBR settle allegations HOUSTON - Halliburton and Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) have agreed to pay $579 million in fines related to allegations of foreign bribery, the biggest fines ever paid by US companies in a foreign corruption case, federal authorities and the companies said yesterday. The SEC and Department of Justice alleged that Houston-based Halliburton and KBR were part of a joint venture that spent $182M to bribe Nigerian government officials over a 10-year period to win more than $6B in construction contracts. (Washington Post) |
FBI investigates Halliburton complaint Audit faults Halliburton billing Halliburton faces criminal probe Halliburton grilled over meals |
|
16 Charged in Parmalat Scandal MILAN - A Milan judge has formally charged Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi, 15 other executives and three financial institutions over their role in the scandal that plunged one of Italy's best-known brands into insolvency. (Fox News) |
Parmalat founder to stand trial Parmalat to sue Bank of America Parmalat debt grows to 14bn euros |
|
Italians held in EU fraud probe BRUSSELS - Three Italians, including an EU official, have been arrested and held in custody as part of a European Commission corruption probe. On Tuesday, European police raided the European Commission and Parliament. (BBC) PREVIOUS: EU officials 'siphoned millions' Guardian: Anatomy of a scandal |
NEW YORK - Ex-Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski received 8-1/3 to 25 years in prison Monday for his part in stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the manufacturing conglomerate. (CNN) PREVIOUS: Jury: High-living CEO pillaged Tyco Tyco two guilty of stealing $150m Judge declares mistrial in Tyco case |
