Alstom pays record fine of $772m to US Department of Justice for bribery charges December 22, 2014 Alstom has pleaded guilty to charges of bribery by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and must now pay a penalty fine of $772m. The French engineering firm has admitted to giving money to government officials in countries such as Indonesia, India and China, in order to win business from them. The DOJ [...]
Former JJB Sports chief receives four-year jail term for £1m fraud December 15, 2014 THE FORMER chief executive of JJB Sports has been handed a four-year jail sentence after being found guilty of accepting more than £1m in backhanders from suppliers. Chris Ronnie was convicted last month of pocketing six-figure payments from three suppliers while in charge of the now-defunct retailer and failing to declare them to the board. [...]
Tesco in further turmoil after profits tumble December 9, 2014 Investors fled for cover yesterday as Tesco warned on profits for the fourth time in five months, raising fears in the City that the ailing supermarket could become a takeover target. Analysts at investment bank Espirito Santo compared Tesco’s demise to that of Sears in 2004, when the US retailer – once the [...]
Fifa facing Serious Fraud Office probe over World Cup bidding November 26, 2014 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office has stepped up efforts to open an investigation into football’s world governing body Fifa amid allegations of corruption surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process. It came as Sajid Javid, secretary of state for culture, media and sport, joined calls for Fifa to publish in full a controversial inquiry [...]
Fifa faces FBI call after triggering criminal probe November 18, 2014 FOOTBALL’S world governing body Fifa was last night urged to pass its files to the Serious Fraud Office and the FBI after lodging a criminal complaint with Swiss authorities over World Cup bidding. Fifa president Sepp Blatter yesterday asked the Swiss attorney general to investigate “possible misconduct” in relation to the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, [...]
Vince Cable writes to supermarket regulator over Tesco’s fractious relationship with suppliers November 5, 2014 At some point in the past few weeks, Business Secretary Vince Cable wrote to the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) to voice his concerns about the supplier base of troubled supermarket Tesco, according to Sky News. Cable is believed to told the GCA that he supports a comprehensive review of Tesco's relationship with suppliers and whether [...]
From Danish sperm and Ukip voters to banking stress tests and Tesco’s criminal probe: 10 things we learned this week October 31, 2014 There was plenty keeping us busy this week, and not all of it was Halloween related. What were the top 10 things we learned? 1. An inadvertent comment by a Royal Bank of Canada employee cost the firm several million dollars. The bank had been working on the record-breaking Alibaba IPO but voluntarily withdrew [...]
Why did Tesco’s share price barely register the SFO criminal investigation? October 30, 2014 Not only did Tesco's share price hardly move when it was confirmed that the Serious Fraud Office had launched a formal criminal investigation into the supermarket, it actually ended the day higher. It closed 1.4 per cent up at 173.3p per share yesterday, with the SFO announcement registering as a minor blip in what, [...]
Fraud squad to probe Tesco’s accounting hole October 29, 2014 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office (SFO) announced yesterday that it would take over from the Financial Conduct Authority in investigating a £263m hole in troubled Tesco’s accounts. The retail giant previously said the profits had been overstated due to erroneous timings in accounting for supplier rebates. It is the latest major case to land on the SFO’s plate, [...]
Tesco share price rises as it confirms Serious Fraud Office has launched a criminal investigation October 29, 2014 The Serious Fraud Office has launched a formal criminal investigation into accounting errors at Tesco which led to a £263m profit black hole. Despite that, shares rose 2.6 per cent in mid-afternoon trading. The SFO had previously said it was “following developments at Tesco with interest” after the supermarket’s profit overstatement was first revealed in [...]