Pensions Regulator’s powers must be strengthened so it can crack down on those avoiding responsibilities August 9, 2016 Pensions are in a pickle. The deficits of private sector schemes are ballooning on the back of rising longevity and interest rates plunging to record lows. The sheer scale of the black hole in defined benefit, or final salary, schemes has prompted senior MPs to call them “the greatest challenge facing longstanding British businesses”. Why [...]
Serious Fraud Office opens criminal investigation into Airbus August 7, 2016 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has opened a criminal investigation into Airbus Group. The body said it was probing allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption at the company. Read more: Airbus likely to take hit to first quarter on A400M charge The SFO called for anyone with relevant information to come forward. A statement said: [...]
Frank Field has met with the director of the Serious Fraud Office to talk about BHS August 5, 2016 Frank Field, chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, has met with the director of the Serious Fraud Office to discuss the ongoing investigation into BHS and Sir Philip Green. Field said the discussion with the SFO's director David Green came about because of concerns surrounding assurances made about Retail Acquisitions (RAL), the company majority-owned by [...]
Petrofac auditors find “no evidence” to support bribery allegations August 1, 2016 Petrofac said today that an independent investigation had found no evidence it was involved in a global scandal over bribery and corruption on the oil industry. The FTSE 250-listed firm called in lawyers and accountants after leaked documents suggested Monaco-based Unaoil paid bribes on behalf of oil companies including Petrofac to win contracts. "The independent investigation has thoroughly investigated [...]
Fraud squad charges logistics company plus seven individuals on alleged bribery related to Angolan oil July 13, 2016 Seven individuals plus one company have today been charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on grounds of alleged bribery involving Angolan oil. Logistics company F.H. Bertling, the UK subsidiary of the German-headquartered Bertling Group, is accused of conspiring to bribe an agent of the Angolan state oil company, Sonangol, in an attempt to benefit its own business interests. The [...]
What Theresa May as Prime Minister means for the future of the fraud squad July 13, 2016 Monday saw the pound spike and the FTSE 100 creep back into bull territory following Andrea Leadsom’s exit from the Conservative party leadership race. It was clear that bookies’ favourite Theresa May’s campaign to frame herself as the candidate for stability in the post-referendum chaos had resonated deeply with markets. Yet while those in the [...]
Libor retrial of ex-Barclays traders set for next February July 12, 2016 Two ex-Barclays bankers were today handed a metaphorical save the date card to head back to court, where they'll face accusations of Libor-rigging. Stylianos Contogoulas, 44, and Ryan Reich, 34, who have been charged with conspiracy to defraud, will be tried at Southwark Crown Court on 13 February 2017. The prosecution alleges that the pair played [...]
Now Tom Hayes’ crowdfunding campaign has broken the £25,000 mark July 10, 2016 A campaign to raise legal fees for former trader Tom Hayes has recently broken the £25,000 mark. At time of writing, the Fundrazr campaign for the former UBS and Citigroup trader had raised £26,705 – or 18 per cent – of its £150,000 target, with a number of four-figure donations coming in over the last week. [...]