UK watchdog slams government failures to tackle Covid loan fraud December 3, 2021 The National Audit Office has chastised the government for failing to crack down on an estimated £5bn of loan fraud during the pandemic. The government’s department for business, energy and industrial strategy handed out far more in Covid Bounce Back Loans than it was expecting during the pandemic with a total of £47bn dished out [...]
Orange chief exec resigns following £336m fraud sentence November 25, 2021 Stephane Richard, chief executive of France's biggest telecoms company Orange, was handed a one year suspended prison sentence on Wednesday after he was convicted of complicity of misuse of public funds by a Paris appeals court, according to Reuters.
Cyber law protecting personal tech from hackers introduced to parliament November 24, 2021 The Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) introduced a new cyber law to protect people’s personal tech from hackers to parliament today.
Afiniti founder threatened with further sexual abuse evidence November 21, 2021 Afiniti founder is threatened with more damning evidence after denying the sexual assault claim made by a former employee.
Environmental Agency and Ofwat team up to investigate potential sewage-dumping by water companies November 18, 2021 Ofwat and Environment Agency join forces to investigate reports water companies are dumping unpermitted sewage in UK rivers.
SFO outgunned by UK firms that spend millions more on lawyers to ‘buy impunity’ November 15, 2021 Companies under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office have spent up to ten times more than the fraudbusters on legal and investigation fees, causing major corruption cases to crash and burn, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found. The UK’s only complex fraud agency’s fight against economic crime is undermined by its lack of funding, [...]
Assange marries partner in Belmarsh Prison November 11, 2021 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been given permission to marry his partner Stella Moris in Belmarsh Prison in London, after months of campaigning.
Australian treasury accused of pressuring ex-KPMG partner to omit $10bn gap in report November 8, 2021 A former KPMG partner has claimed he lost his job after being pressured by an Australian public servant to change a document that found a $10bn gap in the Treasury’s finances, according to reports. In a parliamentary hearing today, Brendan Lyon said he received “professional, ongoing attacks,” from public servants and that the Australian treasury [...]
Under-fire Liberty Steel owner Sanjeev Gupta faces French investigation November 8, 2021 French authorities are investigating Sanjeev Gupta’s business dealings, according to The Financial Times. Gupta is the chairman and CEO of GFG Alliance, which specialises in mining, industry and trading. The firm has been struggling with rising energy costs and the collapse of Greensill Capital which funded many of its acquisitions worldwide. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office [...]
Whistleblowing reports of minimum wage violations fall thanks to furlough scheme November 8, 2021 The number of whistleblowers reporting businesses for breaking national minimum wage laws has dropped to its lowest in four years, with the furlough scheme considered a key driver of the change. Whistleblower reports of national minimum wage (NMW) violations fell to 2,488 over the year, down from 2,580 last year, according to law firm Pinsent [...]