Libor trio plead not guilty to trying to manipulate the rate December 17, 2013 THE FIRST three men to face trial in connection with a global investigation into Libor-rigging pleaded not guilty at Southwark Crown Court yesterday. Tom Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, has been charged with eight counts of conspiring with staff from at least 10 major banks and brokerages to manipulate the London Interbank Offered [...]
Capita wins tag contracts from G4S and Serco December 12, 2013 OUTSOURCING firm Capita has been chosen to take over the prisoner tagging contracts currently held by G4S and Serco, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said yesterday. G4S and Serco are under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in relation to the contracts, on allegations that they charged for tagging criminals who were either dead, [...]
Red faces at the fraud squad as anti-corruption case collapses December 10, 2013 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office (SFO) suffered a major embarrassment yesterday when it was forced to drop an anti-corruption case after one witness changed his evidence and two others refused to attend trial in the UK. The SFO had earlier gone to court against Victor Dahdaleh, an international businessman and donor to the Labour Party, accusing [...]
RBS boss says bank did not profit from troubled firms November 27, 2013 THE CHIEF executive of RBS jumped to his bank’s defence yesterday, saying he did not believe that it had made a “systematic” effort to profit from its troubled business customers. Responding to two reports that have criticised lending practices at the under-fire bank, Ross McEwan said the accusations had damaged RBS’ reputation. “The most serious [...]
RBS could face criminal probe in wake of SME allegations November 27, 2013 Embattled RBS could face a criminal investigation, as news comes that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) may be planning one, following government adviser Lawrence Tomlinson's claim that the bank forced small and medium-sized businesses into difficulties in order to make a profit from stripped assets. According to five unnamed sources cited by the FT, the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 27 November 2013 November 26, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES RBS faces possible criminal probe The Serious Fraud Office is considering a criminal investigation into allegations Royal Bank of Scotland defrauded companies by forcing them out of business, amid growing pressure on the bank over its treatment of SMEs. The SFO has conducted interviews with former executives of UK firms affected by RBS’s [...]
MPs to grill G4S and Serco amid criminal probe November 18, 2013 EXECUTIVES from G4S and Serco will be interrogated by a committee of MPs on Wednesday, as scandals surrounding government contracts continue to blight the two FTSE 100 outsourcing firms. Alastair Lyons, chairman of Serco will attend the hearing, alongside Ashley Almanza, chief executive of G4S. Paul Pindar, chief executive of Capita and Ursula Morgenstern, regional [...]
Serco’s shares plummet after profit warning November 14, 2013 SERCO, the outsourcing firm at the centre of a string of investigations over government contracts, saw its bad run continue yesterday when it issued a profit warning for 2013 and 2014, sending its shares down 17 per cent. Serco blamed “challenging market conditions” and the government contracts debacle for cutting into profits and warned that [...]
Serco shares plummet as contractor faces lower profits in wake of government investigation November 14, 2013 Serco has warned that profits for 2013 may be lower than expected and earnings for 2014 will be lower than 2013. The company has suffered a sharp fall in its share price of over 10 per cent this morning. Serco's problems have been magnified due to an investigation launched by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) [...]
Fraud Office ordered to disclose files in botched Tchenguiz case November 12, 2013 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office (SFO) was yesterday ordered by a High Court judge to disclose an additional 85,000 documents relating to a collapsed investigation. The documents relate to the SFO’s investigation into property entrepreneur Vincent Tchenguiz. The SFO arrested him and seized documents in an investigation into failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing – in a series of [...]