M&C Saatchi reinstates dividend after swinging back to profitability April 29, 2022 Advertising agency M&C Saatchi today said it had returned to profitability after pretax profits of £21.6m for 2021, compared to an £8.5m loss in 2020. The communications agency spun out of Saatchi & Saatchi in 1995 said it plans to reinstate its dividend 2022, after failing to pay it last year. The firm claimed its [...]
UK fraud office returns £1m to victims of ‘Wolf of Wimbledon’ scammer April 28, 2022 The UK’s serious fraud office (SFO) has returned £1m in stolen funds to more than 200 victims of Australian fraudster Jeffrey Revell-Reade. The SFO said it had handed over another £1m in stolen funds, on top of the £3m already returned, after the fraudster conned investors out of a total £70m. The return comes after [...]
Laurence Fox asks judge to let jury hear his libel lawsuit April 28, 2022 English actor and right-wing political activist Laurence Fox is seeking for his libel lawsuit to be heard by a jury – in what would be the first libel trial to be heard by a jury in a decade. The request comes after Fox was sued by charity boss Simon Blake, Ru Paul’s Drag Race star [...]
Accountancy firm RSM consolidates power after buying out former partners April 28, 2022 The board of accountancy firm RSM has made a push to consolidate its power, by taking control of almost all shares in the firm through a buyout of its former partners. The shareholder buyout comes after RSM shareholders launched a coup against the accountancy firm’s ex-board in 2020, following the discovery an almost £10m hole [...]
McKinsey helped ‘turbocharge’ opioid sales while working for US regulators, House committee says April 28, 2022 Consultancy giant McKinsey played a “pivotal role” in the US opioid crisis by helping Purdue Pharma “turbocharge” sales of opioid painkiller Oxycontin whilst working for US drug regulators, a Congressional report has said. The multi-billion-dollar consulting firm helped Purdue develop strategies to boost sales of its addictive painkiller, by advising the firm to offer its [...]
EY Germany vows to improve working conditions in wake of Wirecard scandal April 28, 2022 EY Germany has vowed to cut staff workloads and improve company working conditions, in response to its role in the multi-billion-euro Wirecard scandal. The German arm of the Big Four accountancy firm said it plans to reduce workplace stress and the overburdening of its workers, by limiting overtime and hiring more people. The pledge comes [...]
UK fraud investigators serve notice on companies linked to mining magnate Sanjeev Gupta April 27, 2022 UK fraud investigators yesterday served notices at multiple addresses linked to mining magnate Sanjeev Gupta, just a day after French police raided Paris offices linked to the embattled steel tycoon. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) yesterday issued Section 2 notices to trading addresses linked to the Gupta’s Liberty House Group of companies, requesting financial [...]
Online Harms Bill: Lawyers warn new rules will have ‘chilling effect’ and hit businesses unnecessarily hard April 27, 2022 Broad and far-reaching legislation to tackle online harms could place a major burden on companies, particularly small businesses, lawyers told City A.M. today. The Government’s Online Harms Bill, published in March, seeks to address illegal and harmful content on the Internet with the aim of safeguarding UK citizens online. Companies that don’t comply with the [...]
Thousands of consultants now working to achieve Chartered status, one year after qualification’s launch April 27, 2022 London consultants are increasingly seeking to certify their professional achievements by attaining Chartered Consultant status, following the launch of the professional qualification last year. More than 3,000 consultants are currently working towards gaining Chartered status, while more than 600 have already got it, according to new figures from the Management Consultancies Association (MCA). The news [...]
Billionaire financier Leon Black paid mistress millions for UK Golden Visa April 27, 2022 Billionaire financier Leon Black paid his Russian mistress £2m to make her eligible for a UK “Golden Visa”, in the hopes she would start a new life, far away from his home in New York. The co-founder of private equity giant Apollo Global Management transferred millions to his former mistress Guzel Ganieva after she began [...]