WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 9, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG HITS FRENCH AUDITORS French auditors have been lambasted by the UK’s leading accountancy regulator for their performance during the Greek debt crisis. Stephen Haddrill, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council, criticised the way French banks and insurers had been allowed by their auditors to post smaller losses on Greek government bonds [...]
Tycoon ends £1.5bn case against bank September 19, 2011 VINCENT Tchenguiz has settled his £1.5bn lawsuit against collapsed Icelandic bank Kaupthing in a confidential deal he branded “mutually acceptable”. It is understood the property tycoon will regain control of assets put forward as securities for a series of loans, which had been effectively frozen by the bank’s administrators. He is now likely to press [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 13, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES MICROSOFT OPENS WINDOWS TO TOUCHSCREEN Microsoft has laid out a wide-ranging plan to overhaul its Windows software platform, marking an attempt to stem the erosion of its core PC software business amid the rise of touchscreen computing popularised by Apple. Along with the first full touchscreen version of Windows, the world’s biggest software [...]
Anger as SFO drops its probe into hedge fund September 8, 2011 INVESTORS and liquidators have reacted with shock after the Serious Fraud Office dropped a two-and-a-half-year probe into a hedge fund that collapsed with $639m (£399.86m) under management. The SFO said there was “not a reasonable prospect of conviction” after studying evidence on London-based Weavering Capital (UK), which went into administration in 2009. The move comes [...]
SFO considering banks probe September 5, 2011 The Serious Fraud Office is looking into the allegations against UK institutions made by the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). It said it has not decided whether to launch its own formal investigation but will keep abreast of developments in the US. The FHFA is suing 17 banks and financial institutions over alleged misrepresentation [...]
Macmillan hit with £11m fraud fine July 22, 2011 Publishing group Macmillan has been fined more than £11m by the Serious Fraud Office after admitting trying to bribe World Bank officials to win a contract in Sudan. The SFO imposed the £11.3m fine under the 2002 Proceeds of Crime Act, saying MacMillan’s educational division in the region had won tenders by paying bribes and [...]
SFO asked to probe News International July 17, 2011 THE scandal threatening to topple Rupert Murdoch’s empire continued to gather pace yesterday, after the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was asked to investigate News International. The SFO became involved after Labour MP Tom Watson wrote to the body asking it to investigate settlements made in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. Watson branded payments [...]
Fraud office to look into ETFs July 6, 2011 THE Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched a probe into the burgeoning market for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to establish whether it has the tools to prosecute wrongdoing in the industry. The agency, which prosecutes white collar crime, is examining the risks posed by the products and to what extent they could be open to [...]
As the Bribery Act takes effect, almost half of UK plc is unaware June 30, 2011 NEARLY half of UK businesses are still not aware of the UK’s new anti-corruption legislation, despite the Bribery Act finally coming into force this morning. A survey of 400 businesses across the country found that 46 per cent have no knowledge of the Act at all, according to business insurer QBE. Most worryingly, four in [...]
Private equity could fall foul of Bribery Act June 23, 2011 PRIVATE equity firms in the UK could be held liable for bribes paid by officials at companies they own, the Serious Fraud Office has said, following uncertainty in the sector as to what it would mean for business. SFO director Richard Alderman warned private equity clients of the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in [...]