Article: The PSLRA’s Discovery Stay During the Pendency of a Motion To Dismiss Applies in State Court Actions Asserting 1933 Act Claims

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The PSLRA’s Discovery Stay During the Pendency of a Motion To Dismiss Applies in State Court Actions Asserting 1933 Act Claims

Craig S. Waldman ,  08 November 2019

One of the PSLRA’s key procedural protections is the automatic stay of discovery during the pendency of a motion to dismiss. This serves “to protect defendants … from the burden and expense of premature discovery … until the court sustains the sufficiency of the complaint.” ATSI Communications v. Shaar Fund, Ltd., 2003 WL 1877227, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. April 2, 2003). “The legislative history of the PSLRA indicates that Congress enacted the discovery stay to prevent plaintiffs from filing securities class actions with the intent of using the discovery process to force a coercive settlement.” In re LaBranche Sec. Litig., 333 F. Supp. 2d 178, 181 (S.D.N.Y. 2004). Congress also aimed “to prevent plaintiffs from … using [a meritless lawsuit] as a vehicle ‘in order to conduct discovery in the hopes of finding a sustainable claim not alleged in the complaint.’” In re Vivendi Universal, S.A. Sec. Litig., 381 F. Supp. 2d 129, 129-30 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (quoting S. Rep. No. 104-98, at 14 (1995)). Continue reading “Article: The PSLRA’s Discovery Stay During the Pendency of a Motion To Dismiss Applies in State Court Actions Asserting 1933 Act Claims”

Article: London Court Hears £1B Forex-Rigging Case Against Five Banks

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London Court Hears £1B Forex-Rigging Case Against Five Banks

Aziz Abdel-Qader, 05 November 2019

The case accusing Barclays, Citigroup, JPMorgan, Royal Bank of Scotland, and UBS of foreign exchange rigging is scheduled to be heard at London’s tribunal on Wednesday.

The five global banks are facing a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) class-action lawsuit that seeks to compensate pension funds, asset managers, hedge funds, and corporations that lost out because these banks participated in a market manipulation scheme between 2007 and 2013. However, the total value of potential fines will depend on the number of forex trades executed in London, and the proportional impact of rate-rigging on GBP trades. Continue reading “Article: London Court Hears £1B Forex-Rigging Case Against Five Banks”

Article: Counter-Strike trading found to be ‘nearly all’ money laundering

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Counter-Strike trading found to be ‘nearly all’ money laundering

Alex Hern,  30 October 2019

The gaming firm Valve has halted trading of some in-game items in its popular multiplayer shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive after discovering that “nearly all” of the trading was part of a money-laundering scheme run by “worldwide fraud networks”.

In CS:GO, players can earn containers with cosmetic items, which can be unlocked using keys bought either in-game or for real money from other players.

Valve said it had closed the market between players, and in patch notes for the latest version of CS:GO – first reported by Motherboard – it gave its reasons. Continue reading “Article: Counter-Strike trading found to be ‘nearly all’ money laundering”

Article: Pan-Mass Challenge Raises Record $63 Million for Dana-Farber

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Pan-Mass Challenge Raises Record $63 Million for Dana-Farber

Candid, 23 October 2019

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston has announced a record $63 million gift from the Pan-Mass Challenge, an annual two-day cycling event that raises funds for adult and pediatric cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Continue reading “Article: Pan-Mass Challenge Raises Record $63 Million for Dana-Farber”

Article: Pan-Mass Challenge Sets Record for Donations

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Pan-Mass Challenge Sets Record for Donations

NewsCenter, 22 October 2019

The Pan-Mass Challenge announced their largest financial gift ever given to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The record breaking $63 million check exceeds this year’s $60 million goal and brings the PMC’s 40 year fundraising total to $717 million.

The 40th Annual Pan-Mass Challenge bike-a-thon was held in early August, with the route going through Cape Cod all the way to Provincetown.

The PMC is the nation’s most successful single-event athletic fundraiser and donates 100 percent of every rider raised dollar to Dana-Farber, a world leader in adult and pediatric cancer treatment and research. Continue reading “Article: Pan-Mass Challenge Sets Record for Donations”

Article: Fincrime Briefing: UBS pays to settle laundering probe, U.S., South Korea take down largest crypto-fueled child exploitation site, DOJ guidance on fines when you can’t pay, and more

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Fincrime Briefing: UBS pays to settle laundering probe, U.S., South Korea take down largest crypto-fueled child exploitation site, DOJ guidance on fines when you can’t pay, and more

Brian Monroe, 17 October 2019

UBS pays $11 million to settle Italian money laundering probe, tied to tax fracas An Italian judge has accepted a request by UBS to pay more than 10 million euros ($11 million) to settle a money-laundering investigation, ending one of the Swiss bank’s biggest legal headaches in Europe, just the latest in a series of international probes and settlements tied to financial crime and compliance failures.

UBS has been grappling with two separate probes in Italy and a court case in France over allegations it enabled cross-border tax cheats to hide assets in Switzerland.

The judge on Thursday accepted the payment of 2.125 million euros as “agreed penalty” to close the case while also seizing 8.175 million euros as profit from the alleged money-laundering, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The settlement, which by Italian law is not an admission of guilt, was requested by UBS in July, after a deal with Italian prosecutors. Last June, the Swiss bank paid 101 million euros to settle its other Italian case, a related financial investigation, with tax authorities. Continue reading “Article: Fincrime Briefing: UBS pays to settle laundering probe, U.S., South Korea take down largest crypto-fueled child exploitation site, DOJ guidance on fines when you can’t pay, and more”

Article: Form S-1/A Bionano Genomics, Inc

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Form S-1/A Bionano Genomics, Inc

EDGARFILINGS LTD, 17 October 2020

We are offering 5,265,000 shares of our common stock and common warrants to purchase an aggregate of 5,265,000 shares of our common stock (and the shares of common stock that are issuable from time to time upon exercise of the warrants). We are also offering to certain purchasers whose purchase of shares of common stock in this offering would otherwise result in the purchaser, together with its affiliates and certain related parties, beneficially owning more than 4.99% (or, at the election of the purchaser, 9.99%) of our outstanding common stock immediately following the consummation of this offering, the opportunity to purchase, if any such purchaser so chooses, pre-funded warrants, in lieu of shares of common stock that would otherwise result in such purchaser’s beneficial ownership exceeding 4.99% (or, at the election of the purchaser, 9.99%) of our outstanding common stock. Each pre-funded warrant will be exercisable for one share of our common stock. Continue reading “Article: Form S-1/A Bionano Genomics, Inc”

Article: Collusion with Trump over Russia inquiry ‘did not happen’, says Raab

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Collusion with Trump over Russia inquiry ‘did not happen’, says Raab

Patrick Wintour, 02 October 2019

No member of the British government, including the prime minister, would ever collude with Donald Trump to try to discredit the work of intelligence agencies uncovering Russian interference in the 2016 US election, the UK foreign secretary said.

Dominic Raab told the Commons that “any such collusion is entirely unacceptable, would never happen, and did not happen”.

The foreign secretary refused to say at prime minister’s questions whether Boris Johnson, or his predecessor, Theresa May, had spoken to the US president about any request to cooperate with the inquiry he had ordered into how the US intelligence agencies handled claims that Russia colluded with the Trump presidential campaign in 2016.

The collusion claim led to the lengthy report by Robert Mueller, which showed that Russia was attempting to swing the presidential election in favour of Trump but did not say whether there had been collusion between Russia and Trump.

Raab was asked whether, as reported in the Times, Trump had personally contacted Johnson to ask him to cooperate with the US inquiry.

The Labour MP Ben Bradshaw implied that the purpose of any Trump request might be “to undermine or smear British intelligence services, as well as damage cooperation with their US colleagues”.

Raab, deputising for Johnson at prime minister’s questions, said: “Neither the prime minister or, as then, the foreign secretary, would collude in the way that he described. That is entirely unacceptable and would never happen and did not happen.”

It is noticeable that the British government has been less willing than either the Australian or Italian governments to give details of help given to Trump’s inquiry into the role of the US intelligence services.

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Article: London forex trader sues Citigroup over ‘malicious’ forex prosecution

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London forex trader sues Citigroup over ‘malicious’ forex prosecution

Kirstin Ridley, 02 October 2019

Rohan Ramchandani, the former European head of Citigroup’s forex spot market trading desk, alleges in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday that Citigroup made false and “gravely derogatory” assertions against him to government investigators and the media after firing him in 2014 without cause.

“Ultimately, Citi quite literally fabricated an antitrust case for the United States Department of Justice against Ramchandani based upon knowingly false allegations that he engaged in market ‘manipulation’ and ‘collusion’,” read the complaint filed in the federal court in Manhattan.

A spokeswoman for Citigroup in London said the bank rejected the allegations and would fight the case.

“Mr. Ramchandani’s claims of malicious prosecution are without merit and we will contest them vigorously,” she said.

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Article: The Fall Of Overstock’s Mad King

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The Fall Of Overstock’s Mad King

Forbes, 30 September 2019

Recently, Patrick Byrne, The Founder And Longtime Ceo Of Former E-tailing Giant Overstock.com, Made Headlines By Resigning, Saying His Involvement As A Federal Informant In The Investigation Of Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina Made Performing His Duties Impossible. That’s Not The Whole Story. This Is. Continue reading “Article: The Fall Of Overstock’s Mad King”

Article: Brexit: Allegations of “foreign government collusion” with “Remainer” MPs

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Brexit: Allegations of “foreign government collusion” with “Remainer” MPs

EU TODAY, 29 September 2019

Downing Street has reportedly launched a major investigation into alleged links between foreign governments and the MPs behind the ‘Surrender Act’ which could force Boris Johnson to delay Britains’s exit from the European Union, according to The Mail on Sunday.

According to the newspaper, sources say that No 10 took the unprecedented action after officials received intelligence that the MPs, including former Cabinet Minister Oliver Letwin, had received help drafting the Bill from members of the French Government and the European Union.

The newspaper has also claims that the rebel MPs have drawn up plans for a second Act which would allow Commons Speaker John Bercow to bypass the Prime Minister if he cannot strike a deal to leave the EU on October 31st, something that has been reported from other sources.

The new law would allow Mr Bercow to personally ask Brussels for a further delay on behalf of the Commons. The rebels have reportedly discussed using the legislation to give Mr Bercow the power to appoint a new British commissioner to the EU, with pro-Remain former Home Secretary Amber Rudd mentioned as a candidate.

The Benn Act, passed earlier this month, states that if Johnson fails to win a deal by the end of the next EU summit on October 18th, he must write a letter to Brussels asking for the UK’s departure to be delayed until January 31st, which he says he will refuse to do.

Under the rebel plan, the Commons would sit on October 19th in order to pass a new Bill giving Mr Bercow the power to write the letter. A senior Commons source said: ‘The rebels say that if Boris wants to play with nuclear weapons then so will they’.

But last night No 10 hit back amid claims from senior sources that Mr Letwin had agreed the January 31st date in the first Benn Act with figures at the French Embassy in London.

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Article: Russian hacker pleads guilty in ‘massive’ stock market cyberattack

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Russian hacker pleads guilty in ‘massive’ stock market cyberattack

Jeff Elder, 28 September 2019

This week a Russian hacker pleaded guilty in what the U.S. Department of Justice called “a massive computer hacking campaign targeting U.S. financial institutions, brokerage firms, financial news publishers, and other companies.”

The Southern District of New York case includes dramatic events in which Andrei Tyurin made “an effort to artificially inflate the price of certain stocks” and then “marketed the stocks in a deceptive and misleading manner” to customers whose contact information he stole from companies including an unnamed major financial news agency. Continue reading “Article: Russian hacker pleads guilty in ‘massive’ stock market cyberattack”

Article: ‘Striking’ Bitcoin Market Manipulation Revealed

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‘Striking’ Bitcoin Market Manipulation Revealed

Billy Bambrough,  25 September 2019

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets are in turmoil tonight after the disappointing launch of the hotly-anticipated Bakkt crypto platform.

The bitcoin price shed 15% of its value this week, with some of its biggest rivals including ethereum, Ripple’s XRP, litecoin, and bitcoin cash, recording losses as high as 22% as investors balked at Bakkt’s low bitcoin trading volume.

Now, new research has warned of a “striking systematic trend” in bitcoin price movements, with bitcoin falling far further than average ahead of CME’s bitcoin futures contracts being settled each month. Continue reading “Article: ‘Striking’ Bitcoin Market Manipulation Revealed”

Article: Russian national confesses to biggest bank hack in US history

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Russian national confesses to biggest bank hack in US history

DAN GOODIN, 24 September 2019

A Russian national has admitted to carrying out the largest-known computer hack on a US bank. His 2014 breach of JPMorgan Chase generated hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit revenue and stole the data of more than 80 million JPMorgan clients.

Andrei Tyurin, 35, whose last name is also spelled Tiurin, also pleaded guilty to hacks against other US financial institutions, brokerage firms, and other companies. In all, he pleaded guilty in federal court to computer intrusion, wire fraud, bank fraud, and illegal online gambling as part of a securities-fraud scheme carried out by co-conspirators. Continue reading “Article: Russian national confesses to biggest bank hack in US history”

Article: Ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne sells stock, doubles down on crypto

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Ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne sells stock, doubles down on crypto

Leo Jakobson, 20 September 2019

Overstock.com’s founder Patrick Byrne ended his connection with the online retailer he built into a giant in much the same way as he ended his tenure as its CEO a month ago: bizarrely.

Since 2014, Byrne poured more than $200 million of Overstock.com’s resources into a venture capital arm, Medici Ventures, with the goal of turning the online retailer into a blockchain powerhouse, Forbes estimates.

Ten days before he stepped down on August 22, Byrne had forced his PR team to post a release on the company’s investor relations page reading, “Overstock.com CEO Comments on Deep State, Withholds Further Comment.” It delved vaguely into the Hillary Clinton/Russia investigation, President Donald Trump, and Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, as well as a “senior military officer,” and “the Men in Black.” Lurking unmentioned in the background was his affair with a jailed Russian agent. Continue reading “Article: Ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne sells stock, doubles down on crypto”

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