Month: March 2021

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Article: Why Benitec Biopharma (BNTC) Stock Is Skyrocketing Today

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Why Benitec Biopharma (BNTC) Stock Is Skyrocketing Today

Neer Varshney, 23 March 2021

The shares of Benitec Biopharma Inc BNTC 1.02% are trading 92.5% higher at $6.14 in the early pre-market session on Tuesday. What Happened: Benitec shares had closed at $3.19 on Monday. The surge follows Morgan Stanley MS 0.49% disclosing in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after the markets closed on Monday that it had increased its stake by about 5.2% in the Australian biotechnology company.

Morgan Stanley disclosed in the 13G filing it now owned 249,174 shares in Benitec, compared to about 13,100 earlier.

Benitec is engaged in providing gene silencing therapies, combining RNA interference with gene therapy.

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Article: Former Citgo exec pleads guilty in $7 million international bribery, money laundering scheme

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Former Citgo exec pleads guilty in $7 million international bribery, money laundering scheme

Alison Medley, 23 March 2021

A federal investigation has revealed an elaborate scheme involving millions in international bribes and Houston-based oil company, Citgo, according to a U.S. Justice Department report.

At the heart of a federal investigation was Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. PDVSA, which owns the Houston-based subsidiary Citgo. Continue reading “Article: Former Citgo exec pleads guilty in $7 million international bribery, money laundering scheme”

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Article: Federal Prosecutors allege credit union CEO embezzled $2M

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Federal Prosecutors allege credit union CEO embezzled $2M

ACG, 23 March 2021

In May 2017, five months after Stacey Shaw became president and CEO of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 712 Federal Credit Union in Beaver, Pennsylvania, she opened credit cards issued by the union. Federal prosecutors allege she made more than $2 million in charges and cash advances through March 2020, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Court documents filed by prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh charged Shaw with one felony count of embezzlement from a federal credit union and two felony counts of failing to file federal income tax returns. Continue reading “Article: Federal Prosecutors allege credit union CEO embezzled $2M”

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Article: Taiwan Regulators Steps Up Scrutiny of Clubhouse App

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Taiwan Regulators Steps Up Scrutiny of Clubhouse App

Ranamita Chakraborty, Regulation Asia, 23 March 2021

The social media app restricts voice recording without the consent of every speaker in a chat room, which may create a loophole for stock manipulators.

Taiwan’s FSC (Financial Supervisory Commission) is reportedly looking into ways to monitor suspected stock market manipulation on Clubhouse, an exclusive invitation-only social networking app based on audio-chat. Continue reading “Article: Taiwan Regulators Steps Up Scrutiny of Clubhouse App”

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Article: GameStop hearing targets stock lending, social media

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GameStop hearing targets stock lending, social media

Michael Shaw, 23 March 2021

Two issues emerged from a congressional hearing on the volatile trading of GameStop Corp. shares: Lawmakers and regulators need a greater understanding of how technology helped foster the frenzy, and regulators need systems to understand such events — and possibly to manage them.

House Financial Services members and witnesses spent most of their time at the hearing last week focusing on the role of short-selling in the GameStop trading frenzy in January. They specifically looked at the source of securities used to take short positions, and they looked at how a bunch of retail investors seemingly were able to outmaneuver the professionals. Continue reading “Article: GameStop hearing targets stock lending, social media”

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Article: Form 8-K American Acquisition Opportunity Inc.

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Form 8-K American Acquisition Opportunity Inc.

EDGAR AGENTS LLC, 23 March 2021

On March 22, 2021, American Acquisition Opportunity Inc. (the “Registrant”) consummated its initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 10,000,000 units (the “Units”), each Unit consisting of one share of common stock of the Registrant, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”) and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Warrant”), each whole Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Common Stock for $11.50 per share. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating aggregate gross proceeds to the Registrant of $100,000,000.

In connection with the IPO, the Registrant entered into the following agreements, forms of which were previously filed as exhibits to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-252751) related to the IPO, originally filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on February 5, 2021 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”): Continue reading “Article: Form 8-K American Acquisition Opportunity Inc.”

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Article: American Acquisition Opportunity Inc – Units (1 Ord Class A & 1/2 War) (AMAOU)

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American Acquisition Opportunity Inc – Units (1 Ord Class A & 1/2 War) (AMAOU)

Seeking Alpha, 23 March 2021

An Underwriting Agreement, dated March 17, 2021 by and between the Registrant and Kingswood Capital Markets, division of Benchmark Securities, Inc., a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 1.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference.

A Warrant Agreement, dated March 17, 2021, by and between the Registrant and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC as warrant agent, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 4.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference. Continue reading “Article: American Acquisition Opportunity Inc – Units (1 Ord Class A & 1/2 War) (AMAOU)”

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Article: CBA, ANZ to Settle 2016 Lawsuit Involving BBSW Manipulation

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CBA, ANZ to Settle 2016 Lawsuit Involving BBSW Manipulation

Editors, Regulation Asia, 23 March 2021

The case was initially launched by two US hedge funds and a US-based derivatives trader, alleging they suffered losses due to bank manipulation of the BBSW.

CBA (Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and ANZ Bank have separately issued statements saying they have reached an agreement to settle a class action brought against them in the US in 2016 involving the trading of certain BBSW-based products. Continue reading “Article: CBA, ANZ to Settle 2016 Lawsuit Involving BBSW Manipulation”

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Article: Bionano Genomics Announces Financial Results for the Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2020 and Highlights Recent Corporate Updates

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Bionano Genomics Announces Financial Results for the Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2020 and Highlights Recent Corporate Updates

GLOBE NEWSWIRE, 23 March 2021

Bionano Genomics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNGO) today reported financial results and business achievements for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2020 and highlighted recent corporate updates.

“2020 was an important momentum-building year for Bionano and one that allowed us to showcase many of our strengths. Despite 2020’s challenges, we executed well on our commercial offerings for Saphyr® by expanding the number of systems in the field and the number of samples analyzed in our data services lab. We believe this progress helped create the awareness needed to develop the market for structural variation analysis and optical genome mapping, or OGM, furthering our goal of disrupting the genomics industry,” said Erik Holmlin, PhD, CEO of Bionano. “2021 is shaping up to be a transformational year for the company. Continue reading “Article: Bionano Genomics Announces Financial Results for the Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2020 and Highlights Recent Corporate Updates”

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Article: Alliance Man Sentenced for Federal Financial Crime Convictions

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Alliance Man Sentenced for Federal Financial Crime Convictions

News Release, 23 March 2021

Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Randall W. Hillman, 70, of Alliance, was sentenced Tuesday in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Senior United States District Judge Richard G. Kopf for possession of device making equipment and using or trafficking in an unauthorized access device. Hillman was sentenced to 3 years’ probation, $5,500 in fines, $36,566 in restitution, and a $200 special assessment. There is no parole in the federal system. Continue reading “Article: Alliance Man Sentenced for Federal Financial Crime Convictions”

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Article: Former Glencore trader charged in global oil price manipulation scam

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Former Glencore trader charged in global oil price manipulation scam

THOMAS BIESHEUVEL AND JAVIER BLAS, 23 March 2021

(Bloomberg) –A former Glencore Plc trader was charged by U.S. authorities with conspiracy to manipulate a key oil price benchmark, the latest sign that prosecutors around the world are stepping up their scrutiny of the notoriously opaque commodity trading industry.

U.S. prosecutors alleged that Emilio Heredia, a former Glencore employee, directed buy and sell orders that would push fuel oil prices up and down. That allowed the companies he worked for to profit from the price swings, between 2012 and 2016, according to a filing at a U.S. District Court in San Francisco on March 15.

The investigation is the latest legal setback for Glencore, already embroiled in a wide-ranging probe by the U.S. Department of Justice on allegations of bribery and money laundering. The UK, Swiss and Brazilian authorities are also investigating the commodity trader. Continue reading “Article: Former Glencore trader charged in global oil price manipulation scam”

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Article: The Legal and Economic Implications from Recent UK Spoofing Cases

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The Legal and Economic Implications from Recent UK Spoofing Cases.

Yan Cao, Marlene Haas, Greg Leonard, 23 March 2021

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”)[1] has in recent years intensified its efforts in securities and commodities markets to detect and pursue the type of disruptive trading behaviour called “spoofing.” This emphasis coincides with a similarly increasing focus by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) on spoofing cases in the US. Spoofing may take different forms, but usually involves the placing of non-bona fide orders, often of large quantity, on one side of the market while trying to execute a bona fide order on the other side of the market. Once the bona fide order has been executed, the trader cancels the non-bona fide orders quickly. To date, more than 40 enforcement actions targeting spoofing have been filed against individuals and companies by US regulators and more than 5 have been filed by UK regulators. In February 2019, Julia Hoggett, the FCA’s Director of Market Oversight, delivered a speech about the FCA’s commitment to tackling market abuse, calling compliance with such rules “critical to the integrity and health of our financial markets.” Continue reading “Article: The Legal and Economic Implications from Recent UK Spoofing Cases”

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Article: Market Manipulation: Alberta Securities Commission clamps down on pump and dump scheme

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Market Manipulation: Alberta Securities Commission clamps down on pump and dump scheme

Lawrence E. Ritchie, Tristram Mallett, Devon Luca, 23 March 2021

The Alberta Securities Commission (the “ASC”) recently issued its reasons in Re Kilimanjaro Capital Ltd., 2021 ABASC 14 (the “Decision”). The ASC concluded the control person of Kilimanjaro Capital Ltd. (“Kilimanjaro”), Ashmit Patel, engaged in, among other things, market manipulating conduct intended artificially to inflate Kilimanjaro’s share price so that he could profit.

The Decision highlights the extensive cross-border cooperation between the United States Security and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSAs”). The Decision also strengthens the existing legal framework relating to misleading promotional materials. As we have written previously, regulators are grappling with how to regulate an evolving market in which information posted on social media can significantly influence market valuations. The Decision lays useful groundwork that can be used to regulate legitimate trading practices used for improper purposes.

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Article: Melvin Capital Is Facing Nine Lawsuits Related to the GameStop Frenzy

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Melvin Capital Is Facing Nine Lawsuits Related to the GameStop Frenzy

Michelle Celarier, Institutional Investor, 22 March 2021

Gabriel Plotkin’s Melvin Capital, the hedge fund at the center of the GameStop trading frenzy in January, is a defendant in nine lawsuits by retail investors alleging a conspiracy to limit trading that caused them to lose money.

The hedge fund revealed the existence of the lawsuits in its annual ADV filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Melvin was famously short GameStop and lost more than 50 percent during January following a short squeeze orchestrated by a Reddit forum called WallStreetBets, whose members included retail investors in GameStop. As the stock soared, various online brokerages catering to those investors, including Robinhood, restricted buying shares of GameStop, among other stocks heavily shorted by Melvin.

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Article: North Korean appears in U.S. court on sanctions-evasion money-laundering charges

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North Korean appears in U.S. court on sanctions-evasion money-laundering charges

David Brunnstrom and Mark Hosenball, 22 March 2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A North Korean businessman accused by the United States of laundering money to circumvent U.S. and U.N. sanctions intended to curb his country’s nuclear weapons program appeared in a U.S. court on Monday after extradition from Malaysia.

The U.S. Justice Department said Mun Chol Myong, who it said was affiliated with North Korea’s primary intelligence organization, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, was the first North Korean ever extradited to the United States.

It said Mun appeared in federal court in Washington, where he was indicted in May 2019 on six counts of money laundering, including conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Mun was arrested in Malaysia in 2019 after the United States accused him of laundering funds through front companies and issuing fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to North Korea. He denied the allegations, saying they were politically motivated.

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