Mia – Page 101 – Financial Treason & Crime

Victor Golovtchenk, 28 October 2014

According to an announcement by the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), U.S. bank Merrill Lynch’s Professional Clearing Corp. (Merrill Lynch PRO) got fined $3.5 million for violating Regulation SHO. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) implemented this rule in 2005 to prevent the conducting of a practice called naked short selling.

Merrill Lynch’s affiliated broker-dealer Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (Merrill Lynch) has also been fined $2.5 million for failing to establish, maintain and enforce supervisory systems and procedures related to Regulation SHO and other areas, according to the FINRA announcement. Continue reading “Article: FINRA Fines Merrill Lynch $6 Mln for Failing to Prevent Naked Short Selling”

08/19/201403/10/2021

Article: STEVE COHEN’S RIGHT-HAND MAN MAKES SURPRISE EXIT FROM FAMILY OFFICE

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STEVE COHEN’S RIGHT-HAND MAN MAKES SURPRISE EXIT FROM FAMILY OFFICE

MICHAEL FINNIGAN, 19 August 2014

Thomas Conheeney, the long-serving president of Steven A Cohen’s hedge fund SAC Capital, which pleaded guilty to insider trading last year, has stepped down from the organisation, less than a year after it converted to a family office. Conheeney, 50, will be replaced by Douglas Haynes, 48, a former director at consultancy firm McKinsey & Co, but will remain on in an advisory role until the end of the year.

Cohen said in a statement that he had worked with Haynes for several years on the board of New York poverty action charity the Robin Hood Foundation and was impressed by his work there so asked him to head his family office. Continue reading “Article: STEVE COHEN’S RIGHT-HAND MAN MAKES SURPRISE EXIT FROM FAMILY OFFICE”

07/22/201403/20/2021

Article: Criminal investigation into possible price rigging in London foreign exchange market

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Criminal investigation into possible price rigging in London foreign exchange market

Merco Press, 22 July 2014

The United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched a criminal investigation into allegations of price rigging in the £3tn-a-day foreign exchange market. The probe will look into allegations of “fraudulent conduct”, the director of the SFO said in a statement.

Around 15 international agencies are investigating allegations of collusion and price manipulation. It is alleged that traders used online chat-rooms to plan the fixing of benchmark prices.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in October it had joined other regulators around the world in scrutinizing firms over the potential manipulation of the foreign exchange market.

Several investment banks, including Barclays and HSBC have already suspended currency traders due to the investigation by the FCA. And in March this year the Bank of England suspended one member of staff over the probe.

At the time the head of the Financial Conduct Authority, Martin Wheatley, said that currency manipulation was “every bit as bad” as the Libor scandal, where banks including Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS paid fines totaling 6bn dollars relating to Libor fixing.

For the criminal probe the SFO will work in co-operation with the FCA and the US Department of Justice, which announced its own criminal investigation last October.

Earlier this year US prosecutors flew to London to question individuals over allegations of market manipulation.

The Serious Fraud Office is an independent UK government department responsible for investigating and prosecuting serious and complex fraud, bribery and corruption. It is headed by the Director, David Green CB QC, who exercises powers under the superintendence of the Attorney General. These powers are derived from the Criminal Justice Act 1987.

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06/17/201403/13/2021

Article: How to Explain the Number of Financial Crimes on Wall Street

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How to Explain the Number of Financial Crimes on Wall Street

Robert Lenzner, 17 June 2021

I ask everyone how to explain the stunning number of financial crimes we have witnessed the last several years and never get an adequate clear answer. The reason: it’s not easy to grasp why Bank of America , Citigroup , BNP-Paribas, UBS , Credit Suisse, JP Morgan Chase and a bevy of giant hedge funds are sweating their way through the demand for fines in the tens of billions or potential jail sentences as long as decades.

One reason it’s hard is that prosecution of the crimes comes so many years later than the crimes themselves. It’s hard to contemplate so many banks of marketing garbage mortgages, or laundering money for Iran, Sudan, and other rogue nations or radical groups, or secret bank accounts in Switzerland. The cops on the beat take much more time to act than the actual crimes took. Continue reading “Article: How to Explain the Number of Financial Crimes on Wall Street”

06/02/201403/20/2021

Article: Osborne to target foreign exchange manipulation in City clean-up

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Osborne to target foreign exchange manipulation in City clean-up

Kamal Ahmed, 02 June 2014

The obscure and complicated foreign exchange market is to be the next target of Treasury action, I have been told.

The chancellor is working with Whitehall officials and the international Financial Stability Board (FSB) on new regulations which will be imposed on the market. At the moment, foreign exchange (known in City shorthand as “forex”) is largely unregulated and left to the bank traders who execute deals on behalf of global companies. Companies use forex deals to move money between different currencies and a large part of the market is dealt through London.

One senior official I have spoken to agreed that the public would be “very surprised” that such a major market was clearly open to abuse. The Treasury is likely to announce a set of measures to “clean up the market”, probably in the next fortnight.

The prices in forex are set by traders who are doing the deals. Traders are able to pick a selection of the trades they have been asked to execute, meaning they can choose those most advantageous to their bank. The prices are set at the 4pm “fix”, a daily City benchmark against which currencies are priced. I have written a short “How It Works” at the end of this blog on the allegation that forex is manipulated.

Regulators around the world including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in London and the US Department of Justice are investigating allegations of forex manipulation. It has been reported that at least 15 banks are involved and nine are thought to have suspended or fired traders. No allegations have been proved and no admissions of fault made.

Martin Wheatley, the head of the FCA, said the allegations, if substantiated, could be “every bit as bad as Libor”, referring to the revelations three years ago that the market which governs how banks lend to each other was regularly fixed.

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05/30/201403/04/2021

Article: The Taming of the Trading Monster

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The Taming of the Trading Monster

Even billionaires have feelings,” Alexandra Cohen had taken to saying. Her husband, Steve Cohen, is the billionaire in question. He’s one of the most successful hedge-fund managers in history—“the Michael Jordan of trading,” in the words of one Wall Street observer.

He’d built SAC Capital Advisors into one of the most profitable hedge funds in the world while amassing a net worth estimated at $11 billion.

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05/16/201403/02/2021

Article: Valeant accused of ‘aggressive accounting games’ by renowned short-seller Jim Chanos

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Valeant accused of ‘aggressive accounting games’ by renowned short-seller Jim Chanos

Nicolas Van Praet, 16 May 2014

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. teamed up with respected activist Bill Ackman to buy Allergan Inc. in part to build its own legitimacy with investors after several periods of short-selling in Valeant stock in recent years. So far, however, the partnership has done little to silence the most vocal voices betting against Canada’s largest drug company. Continue reading “Article: Valeant accused of ‘aggressive accounting games’ by renowned short-seller Jim Chanos”

05/08/201403/02/2021

Article: Pingify (PGFY) – Statements By Pingify’s CEO Omit Material Facts

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Pingify (PGFY) – Statements By Pingify’s CEO Omit Material Facts

GeoTeam, 08 May 2014

On the morning of May 6, 2014, we published a pump and dump investor alert about Pingify (OTCQB:PGFY) for GeoInvesting premium members: The company went public through a self-directed IPO, where the CEO received 25 million shares at a cost basis of $0.001 ($150,000). The company is touting its product as a lead generation tool to match buyers and sellers. As an example, here is an excerpt from its 2013 10-K. Continue reading “Article: Pingify (PGFY) – Statements By Pingify’s CEO Omit Material Facts”

05/07/201403/02/2021

Article: CGI Group: Receivables Factoring, Cancelled Bookings, Insider Selling, And Organic Revenue Decline (Part 4)

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CGI Group: Receivables Factoring, Cancelled Bookings, Insider Selling, And Organic Revenue Decline (Part 4)

Reid D. Notes, 07 May 2014

In this note, we analyze the company’s fiscal Q2 cash flows, we estimate the magnitude of CGI’s customer backlog cancellations during the quarter, and we discuss Serge Godin’s ownership stake in CGI. Can a company juice short-term cash flows by managing accounts receivable Continue reading “Article: CGI Group: Receivables Factoring, Cancelled Bookings, Insider Selling, And Organic Revenue Decline (Part 4)”

04/18/201403/04/2021

Article: Steve Cohen – “The Hedge Fund King”

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Steve Cohen – “The Hedge Fund King”

One of the biggest stories in recent Wall Street history was the insider trading scandal centred around Steve Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors. In July 2013, SAC was charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to prevent insider trading, which led to a $1.2 billion fine and the firm agreeing to stop managing funds for outsiders.

Yet, Cohen himself managed to escape imprisonment, on the grounds that prosecutors lacked proof that he knew the trades in question, which were perpetrated by former SAC manager Mathew Martoma, were based on inside information, despite personally signing off on the deals.

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04/17/201403/04/2021

Article: The Anti-Buffett: Steven Cohen

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The Anti-Buffett: Steven Cohen

Brian Stoffel, 17 April 2014

The Anti-Buffett: Why You Should Avoid This Hedge- Fund King’s Tactics Steve Cohen got his start by simply reading the tape. Who is Steve Cohen? Founder of SAC Capital, at one time a hedge-fund with $14 billion in assets Personal wealth valued at $11 billion

It all started when…  Steve was a high school freshman in Long Island, and spent his days playing poker.  By the time he was a junior, he was making between $500 and $1,000 per night from poker alone! When he was in college…  Cohen would sit outside the Merrill Lynch offices in Philadelphia, and watch the stock ticker whiz by.  Over time, Cohen believed he could guess the direction of stocks, without knowing anything about their underlying business. Continue reading “Article: The Anti-Buffett: Steven Cohen”

04/10/201403/04/2021

Article: SAC Capital $1.8 billion penalty approved

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SAC Capital $1.8 billion penalty approved

Aaron Smith, 10 April 2014

A federal judge on Thursday approved a $1.8 billion settlement resulting from the guilty plea of hedge fund operator SAC Capital on charges related to insider trading by its employees. The firm, now known as Point72, reached the settlement last November with federal prosecutors, citing the firm for failing to prevent its employees from engaging in the illegal activity. Continue reading “Article: SAC Capital $1.8 billion penalty approved”

04/07/201403/18/2021

Article: Four indicted in Psagot market manipulation affair

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Four indicted in Psagot market manipulation affair

Ella Levy-Weinribo, 07 April 2014

The indictment is against David Edry, Shai Ben-David, Aharon Navon, and Saar Weintraub.

Four years after the Psagot Investment House Ltd. scandal erupted come the indictments: the Tel Aviv District Attorney (taxation and economy) has filed an indictment against David Edry, who was vice president of Psagot’s brokerage manager of the company’s nostro account at the time, Shai Ben-David, former manager of Psagot’s brokerage, Aharon Navon, former manager of Deutsche Bank Israel’s trading room, and Saar Weintraub, who was a broker at Deutsche Bank Israel. Continue reading “Article: Four indicted in Psagot market manipulation affair”

03/31/201403/15/2021

Article: Swiss probe banks over foreign exchange market

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Swiss probe banks over foreign exchange market

BBC News, 31 March 2014

RBS, Barclays, UBS, Credit Suisse, Zuercher Kantonal Bank, Julius Baer, JP Morgan and Citigroup are being probed by Swiss competition commission, Weko.

“Evidence exists that these banks colluded to manipulate exchange rates in foreign currency trades,” Weko said.

The regulator opened a preliminary investigation last October. Weko said the information it had so far suggested that most important exchange rates are affected.

Authorities worldwide are investigating allegations that some foreign exchange traders have colluded in setting certain key exchange rates in the foreign exchange market, resulting in big profits. Continue reading “Article: Swiss probe banks over foreign exchange market”

03/27/201403/09/2021

Article: OVERSTOCK CEO PATRICK BYRNE TO KEYNOTE BITCOIN 2014 CONFERENCE PRODUCED BY LOCAL PRODUCER

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OVERSTOCK CEO PATRICK BYRNE TO KEYNOTE BITCOIN 2014 CONFERENCE PRODUCED BY LOCAL PRODUCER

LOCAL PRODUCER, 27 March 2014

Overstock.com CEO and bitcoin convert Patrick M Byrne will deliver the keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2014 conference on 15th-17th May at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam.

He is expected to speak about his vision for the future of bitcoin; its potential for global financial inclusion; non-currency uses like proving ownership of stocks and bonds; and the network’s relation to society as a whole.

Jon Matonis, executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation, said:

“We are delighted to have one of bitcoin’s most prominent and prescient champions at our conference. Patrick’s decision to accept bitcoin has introduced it to mainstream society and increased understanding among consumers.”

He added: “It’s going to be a great event; this conference is where visionary technology and mainstream commerce intersects.” Continue reading “Article: OVERSTOCK CEO PATRICK BYRNE TO KEYNOTE BITCOIN 2014 CONFERENCE PRODUCED BY LOCAL PRODUCER”